Closer
by Cherishii
Summary: AU. Takes place after 699. Three months after the war ended, Hinata was mourning Neji. Ino was selling flowers. Life moved forward and Hinata became closer to others (Mainly team 10). There's going to be a lot of holding hands, hugging, cuddling, sleeping, hanging out, training and awkward situations. HinaNaru. Hinatacentric.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto is the work of Kishimoto.**

Edited: May 04, 2016

AU. Takes place after 699. Three months after the war ended, Hinata was mourning Neji. Ino was selling flowers. Life moved forward and Hinata became closer to others (Mainly team 10). There's going to be a lot of holding hands, hugging, cuddling, sleeping, hanging out, training and awkward situations. HinaNaru. Hinatacentric.

This story contains friendship/Romance/Angst

Author's Note:

I started this story because I want to keep practicing my English writing. I support Kishimoto's decision of the canon pairs, and I love reading canon pair fanfictions. However, I do not like writing them. But I do want to write HinataxNaruto moments within this fanfiction. And also, English is not my native language but I will fix mistakes as I notice them.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

 **'Kurama talking to Naruto'**

 _Flashback_

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 **Chapter 1**

The season was transitioning from fall to winter, and so Hinata grabbed her new purple coat and exited her home.

The orange rooftop of the Yamanaka Flower shop came into view, followed by the Pale yellow walls, red window stile, golden muntins, and turquoise window glasses. Hinata paused a few shops away and practiced a loop of phrases inside her head. She cast away her anxiety and wore her practiced smile as she walked inside the flower shop.

"This flower shop makes the neighborhood look so beautiful and lively." Hinata recited one of her practiced phrases. Two customers turned and smiled in agreement.

"You got it backwards, _I_ make this neighborhood look beautiful and lively. The flower shop is an added perk!" Everyone within hearing range seemed to agree with the gleam of cheerfulness in their eyes.

Hinata giggled before she spoke again.

"Ino, I want the usual bouquet of sunflowers." The blond friend quickly got to work on it. A bouquet of sunflowers was presented and Ino took the payment.

Ino leaned her arms on the counter and moved forward with a smile.

"Hey, can I come with you next time you visit him? I've been meaning to visit my dad." She whispered.

Hinata's brow pinched in surprise.

"Yes of course!"

"Bye Hinata!" Ino waved at Hinata as she walked away.

"Bye!" She waved back.

The walk to the cemetery was a struggle for the young woman. Villagers normally stopped her with an enthusiastic wave or a greeting. The conversations were short and consisted of mainly comments about the weather. But it was still very draining. She was relieved that her perfected smile warded off any pity and suspicion and gave nothing away of her psyche. But the truth was she still felt distraught.

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Hinata reached the crimson tori temple gate which stood tall. She descended a few concrete steps while holding onto the rail. The Oak trees kept her company for the rest of the walk, until she reached the wooded gates of the memorial cemetery.

It wasn't too long before she found herself facing Neji's resting place. Hinata recalled that Ino often handled the flowers with extra care when it came to putting the bouquet together. Thus, she used the same amount of gentleness to decorate Neji's memorial place.

From a bystander perspective it appeared like she was performing a secret ceremony to mourn a lost love.

She prayed.

Ko Hyuga joined her side and they welcomed each other's company with a compassionate smile. Ko was able to achieve such an expression maybe because he found love. It happened during the war, right under Hinata's nose. The said lover was a beautiful woman with short brown hair and Hyugan eyes.

Words were finally spoken right after Ko finished praying.

"Hello Lady Hinata."

"Hello Ko."

"Hiashi told me I could find you here, I'm glad I got to join you today."

"Anyone is always welcomed, and I'm pleased that you made it."

Ko stared ahead, and his lips twisted into a gentle smile.

"I'm honored to have had the chance to fight under Neji's command. I was against it at first, but only because I believed that it was your right to lead us during the war."

A sound escaped from her mouth even though she tried so hard to hold back the tears that was about to come.

"Ko…" Hinata always worried that Ko still hated Neji. Thus, she felt liberated from such worries, yet couldn't express it with words.

"Neji was truly a formidable clansman." She agreed with a silent nod, her heart swelling with pride over Neji's accomplishments.

"Up until now I never knew about your feelings. Thank you for your kind words." She wiped away the tears and smiled as silence settled once more.

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It was a little bit more than a week later, on a Wednesday that Hinata Hyuga was back again to visit Neji. But this time, she wasn't alone. She was with Ino. The two had finished visiting Ino's father and now they stood in front of Neji's memorial stone. Although the weather was a bit chilly, Ino still wore her iconic two-piece purple clothes that showed her bare stomach.

"I sometimes wonder what life would have been like if we hadn't lost anyone..." Ino pondered once they were both done praying. "I think I would have been searching for my soulmate, or something."

"Hmm…" Hinata closed her eyes and pictured her answer. She giggled and waved away the idea. "Perhaps I would have been more focused on pursuing Naruto."

"That's quite the bold statement Hinata!" A minute later she followed up with: "How are things with Naruto anyways?"

"I haven't had an actual conversation with him...since the funeral." Ino gasped, her thoughts racing while devising a plan to fix that. That was until the blond realized that Hinata's answer didn't make sense.

Ino held a finger up. "Back up a minute, Naruto always got a lot of clones running around the village. You should be able to see him plenty."

"You see…it's just that I've been staying inside a lot. There's a lot of clan related things going on in my life. I'm normally drained by the evening." Hinata's emotion had fluctuated all through her explanation until it settled to a sad expression.

"Don't worry, there's still time. It's not like Naruto is going anywhere." They both smiled.

"The sky looks empty today." Hinata noted.

Ino's blue eyes trailed to the heavens.

"Yeah it does. Probably because there's no clouds today." After a brief moment of silence, Ino added: "Thanks Hinata for coming along, otherwise I wouldn't have had the courage to visit my dad." Hinata swung her head and stared at Ino who looked like she was about to cry.

"Ino, come here" Hinata stretched her arms and pulled her friend into a hug. For a long time, they both didn't move. As Hinata waited for Ino jump back to her cheery self, she was reminded of how lonely everyone actually was inside their own pain.

Ino took a few steps back and gave her a smile of gratitude. But suddenly she appeared cheery again, but that's because she thought of a fun idea.

"Hinata, would you like to hang out this Saturday and have a sleep over at my house!?"

Her lavender eyes seemed deep in thought as she thought of an excuse. Hinata preferred to spend her time in solitude because at least then she didn't have to pretend to be okay.

"I can't…"

"Aw why not?"

"Because my father might say no."

"Then ask him and just let me know his answer, `kay?"

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Hinata hardly ever asked her father for anything these days, so she felt awkward and afraid. On a Thursday night, the family was having dinner when she asked permission to spend the night at the Yamanaka's house. He granted her permission against her expectations.

She tumbled lifelessly throughout Friday, like an empty cocoon. Hinata toyed with the idea of just staying inside the house during the weekend. But her thoughts contradicted her actions as she searched through her drawers. Hinata was trying to find a nightgown decent enough to wear.

Hanabi wondered in without knocking on the door, and silently lay on her sister's bed. She threw curious glance at Hinata.

"Sis, what are you doing?" Hinata stopped, and joined her sister's side.

"I was trying to decide what to take with me to Ino's sleepover." Hanabi giggled.

"I'm so glad that father is letting you go your friend's house, that way if I ever get asked to a sleepover I can bring this up."

Certain scenarios made Hinata nervous when it came to Hanabi.

"Hanabi, I just hope this sleepover you're talking about is at a girl's." Hanabi gasped in horror.

"Si-Sister!"

"Just kidding!" Hinata gave up on the thought of a nightgown and decided that she would buy pajamas tomorrow. She pecked her sister's forehead. "It's almost bedtime, at least for me anyways."

"Alright, goodnight sis."

"Goodnight."

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Orange rooftop, pale yellow walls, red window stile, golden muntins and turquoise window glass. Hinata entered the flower shop on a Saturday morning, and to her surprise a really angry Ino stood behind the counter. She froze, a bit confused because she didn't understand why Ino's anger was directed at her.

"I-Ino?"

"Hinata, I asked you on Wednesday, and you come to give me a reply on Saturday? You don't even know if I had already made other plans!" Ino retracted and crossed her arms.

"I-I'm sorry Ino! I only got around asking father on Thursday. But even then, I wasn't sure if I was feeling up for it…" Hinata walked towards the blond until she stood right by the counter.

"Ugh, I guess I understand, so apology accepted." Ino leaned over the counter and hugged Hinata.

Ino's words still hung in her head.

"So…did you make other plans?" Ino scowled.

"Of course I didn't! What? You think I don't have faith in you?" She grabbed Hinata by the shoulders and shook her.

"Huh? But you just said…" Hinata shook her head not daring to finish her thoughts. "Never mind." She muttered. "At what time are we meeting?"

"I'll be finished after four-thirty. Can you meet me here at the shop?"

"Sure." Hinata waved and left the shop.

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Hinata spent the next hours at Kurenai's apartment, they were both sipping chamomile tea with honey while scooped up on the couch. Kurenai's daughter, Mirai who was two months old, was sleeping at this time. Hinata stared at photos of Asuma hanging off the wall. She could never get tire of looking at those pictures. She looked away and turned her attention back at the conversation.

"I'm thinking of moving out." Hinata's smile seemed to have a calming effect on her teacher.

"Where to?" The shy girl watched her teacher play with the tea bag inside her cup.

"I'm still deciding if I should move to Asuma's old house." Hinata looked across the room once more, this time she focused on the picture with a younger Asuma standing close to a younger Kurenai. It was definitely a picture from their genin days. Did they always know they were going to end up together?

Hinata sighed.

"What? You think that's a bad idea?"

"N-No! It's not that I'm sorry." She glanced at her teacher. "I think it's a wonderful idea." Kurenai smiled.

"Like I said, I'm still deciding. After all, I don't know how Shikamaru and Konohamaru might feel about it." Hinata nodded slowly.

"H-How is Shikamaru?" She took interest in asking about the shadow user when she remembered he was one of Ino's closest friend.

This time it was Kurenai who sighed.

"The poor boy lost his father, as you're already aware. Just like you, he hides his sadness so well." Hinata choked while drinking tea, but not because she was surprised that Kurenai knew her sadness. Instead, because Kurenai had called her out on it. "You're both strong, you and him."

"Strong you say…but for me it's more like I don't want to burden anyone with my depression." Kurenai nodded in understanding.

"There's many different types of strength, I already told you that Hinata. But the most important thing is to surround yourself with friends and family to keep you grounded."

Hinata reached over and hugged Kurenai. They both stayed like that for some time.

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Hinata had fallen asleep at Kurenai's place, and barely woke up by four o'clock. She could only imagine an angry Ino ready to give her a mental beating. Normally, Hinata would have walked, but the situation called for her to use her chakra. She leaped from roof tops until she spotted the familiar orange roof. She landed gracefully only to witness Choji and Shikamaru gazing at the clouds.

And it was way past four-thirty.

"Hello Choji, Shikamaru." Hinata's smiled at the two boys. Shikamaru appeared to be annoyed about something.

"Hey Hinata, Ino is waiting for you downstairs." Choji teared open a bag of chips and started to eat.

"Good, you're finally here." Shikamaru walked past her and jumped off the building.

Hinata turned to Choji with a questioning look. Choji gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Don't mind Shika, it's just Ino has been taking her anger out on us, so we left her downstairs to wait by herself."

"I'm sorry that I'm late!"

"It's not me who you should be saying that to." Choji offered her potato chips.

"Um, if you do not mind me asking, why are you still here Choji?" They were both eating chips.

"Ino promised to buy me food if I help her with her shopping bags. But Shikamaru was keeping me company until a moment ago."

"I see."

Choji and Hinata entered the flower shop just as Ino was tending to her last customer who was none other than Shikamaru.

"Troublesome, you seriously have to do something about your annoying tendencies lash out on the innocent." Shikamaru stated as he handed the blond the payment for the bouquet of flowers.

"Innocent? Shikamaru you decided to pick today, out of all days, to visit them! It makes me think that you wanna use this as an excuse to ditch us!" Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched, he was clearly irritated at her friend's accusation.

"Tch, say whatever you want Ino." He turned around and walked past everyone while saying his goodbye over his shoulder.

"That Shikamaru, he infuriates me! He talks about me being annoying, but what about him!"

"Take it easy Ino, no one is to blame, maybe he truly did wanna visit them today." Choji defended Shikamaru in his absence.

Hinata wasn't sure who they were talking about. But she assumed that it was about Asuma and Shikamaru's father.

Choji and Hinata waited for Ino to close the shop. Afterwards, they headed to the shopping district.

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It would have all been a complete disaster if wasn't for Choji's kind nature. They had enter a store where Hinata purchased her pajamas. But after they left the place, Hinata witnessed Naruto walking hand in hand with Sakura.

Hinata stood there, stunned and confused. But just like herself, Choji thought that what they witnessed was some sort of misunderstanding. After all, Naruto and Sakura didn't appeared to be blissfully in love. Instead, they had looked worried as they hurried along through the crowd.

But Ino didn't seem to see this. While cracking her knuckles she left to catch up with the two, but Choji was quick to stop Ino's temper for exploding.

"It's not nice to go and start trouble. What if this is all a misunderstanding?" Choji blocked Ino's way, allowing for the couple to disappear off her vision.

"Move it Choji, Naruto has better have a good explanation for this!" Hinata noticed how Ino was quick to blame Naruto.

Hinata came from behind and stood next to Ino. "I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. Even Choji seems to think so." As she said this, her turmoil was put at ease.

Hinata really believed with all her heart that Sakura wouldn't betray her. Not that they were close friends or anything, but there was something about the way Sakura carried herself, that made Hinata believe in her.

Choji padded Ino's shoulder, where it should have been Hinata who should have gotten the comforting gesture.

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After dinner at the BBQ restaurant, Choji parted from the girls with a gentle smile and a wave. And an hour later, Hinata found herself in a tight hug given to her by Ino's mother. She was happy to have Hinata at her house spending time with her precious daughter, who had just lost her father. Ino rescued Hinata from her mother and dragged her upstairs to her bedroom.

It wasn't very often that Hinata got to step foot inside another girl's room. The first thing she noticed was the picture of Ino's team as a genin. Asuma sensei smiled proudly behind the three small genin.

The shopping bags lay forgotten on the bed as the two sat on a floor pillow, facing each other.

"What would you like to do now?" Ino asked. She noticed Hinata's eyes locked onto the bookshelf filled with medic books, romance novels, and board games. Ino decided to suggest something. "I got board games, cards games, music…" Ino paused when Hinata nodded vigorously.

"An adventure game sounds fun." Hinata took off her coat and set it to the side.

"Yeah, and we could listen to music while we play!" Ino said.

Two hours later, when their role playing adventure game was finally picking up, Ino's mother called letting the girls know that the bath was ready.

Ino lowered the radio and asked Hinata if she wanted to go in first. The shy friend replied with a "Yes."

Hinata made a motion to get off the floor, but her legs were numb from sitting for so long. Ino decided to aid her by lending her hand as support. She didn't let go until Hinata assured her that she was able to walk on her own.

There was something so therapeutic taking a hot bath. But the magic only lasted until she realized the water was getting cold. She dried herself and got dressed, wearing her new Naruto patterned pajamas; the actual Naruto that goes in the soup.

Hinata got the bath water ready for Ino and went to get her. However, Ino appeared to be sleeping already; she sprawled on the floor with her head resting on the floor cushion. Hinata sighed, and kneeled next to Ino and shook her awake.

"Ino, I prepared the bath for you." Ino mumbled something as she woke up from her short nap.

"Hinata, you're a goddess." She pulled Hinata into a hug. The shy girl lost her balance and fell forward. She giggled and pulled away from he friend.

"Come on Ino, go."

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Ino's bed was big enough to fit three people. Hinata took the side next to the wall, and pulled the bed-cover over her body. She was falling asleep until she heard Ino walk inside the room and closed the door.

"Hey Hinata, are you still awake?" Hinata turned around and gaped at the scene.

"I-Ino what are you doing!?" Ino had done a transformation technique, and her chosen image had been Naruto.

"I'm waking you up, that's what I'm doing!" When Ino spoke, her voice also sounded just like Naruto's. However, since Ino had just come out of the shower she decided to be naked in this Naruto transformation; except for the small pink towel wrapped around his mid-section. "So what do you think?" She started flexing and doing poses.

"S-stop it, this is embarrassing…"

'Huh? Even though you say that, you don't even look away!' Ino thought to herself.

Ino continued to do suggestive poses and the small pink towel slipped and fell on the floor.

"Oh my god!" She covered her eyes, but even so it had been too late because she actually saw 'it'.

"Okay, okay I'll stop teasing you. I think I might have taken it too far." Ino watched Hinata sulk and turn on her side to face the wall. Ino giggled. "I'm sorry Hinata."

"Yeah right…"

Ino released the technique, and she stood there in her purple pajamas. She jumped into bed and then poked Hinata's side making her twitch.

"Don't do it again." Hinata warned her.

It had gotten quiet and Hinata slowly turned to face Ino, only to see that her friend had transformed again. She sighed, but nevertheless, she stared intensely at Ino's transformation of Naruto in grey pajamas.

Despite her previous warning, Hinata reached out and touched Naruto's golden locks, and trailed her hands to the side of his temple, and finally his cheek. "I have to ask, because I am...aware that accidents happens." Hinata blushed as she said that. "…Have you ever seen Naruto naked?"

"No I haven't. But I had an unfortunate situations happen to me where this guy, which I will not name, decide to bathed in a river naked. And of course I walked in on him."

"So that wasn't Naruto's….um-"

"-No it wasn't." Hinata let out a sigh of relief.

Without any warming, Ino who was still transformed as Naruto, climb on top of her while taking her hands hostage.

The blond stared down at the shy girl who had cherry hued cheeks. Hinata stared back expectantly, and finally gather her thoughts and decided speak.

"I know this is your way of telling me not to give up on Naruto."

"What makes you say that, Hinata?"

"Because I know you didn't invite me here with some weird…perverted…motive." Ino looked away from Hinata's eyes. Her words made Ino's throat feel like it would collapse on itself. The blond slowly let go of Hinata's hand.

She dispelled the transformation technique.

"Of course I didn't invite you over to do weird shit! But still, don't you sometimes wonder…"

"Wonder what…?" Hinata asked, encouraging her to keep voicing her thoughts.

"What it's like to kiss another girl." For the third time, Hinata just didn't know how to react. Her thoughts ran around in a loop, wondering how the conversation even got to this subject. Then Hinata had a revelation, and so she giggled. "What is it Hinata? Why is this amusing to you?"

"Now you're just teasing me Ino, because I usually fall prey to your jokes."

"Oh my god I'm so glad you caught on! Otherwise things would have gotten pretty awkward." Ino commented.

They both laughed.

Ino later rolled off of her and went under the blankets.

"Why did you get so mad when we saw them holding hands…?" Hinata was referring to Sakura and Naruto. She turned on her side to face Ino.

Meanwhile, Ino was on her back staring at the ceiling, wondering if she should tell Hinata the truth.

She decided she should.

"Sai told me that Sakura told Naruto that she loved him." Hinata's eyes widened. "Naruto, being the idiot that he is, didn't believe it and thought Sakura had lied to get him to stop searching for Sasuke."

"So that's why…that's why you jumped into conclusion, when you saw them…Thank you for telling me."

"You don't have to thank me. I just needed you to know."

"Do you think Sakura was lying?"

"I don't know, but Sasuke's back. Well, sort of, since he will be leaving to go travel the world. But what I do know is that Sakura has to make a decision. And it'll be best if you help her make the right one." Ino turned on her side and held one of Hinata's hand and squeezed it.

"Ino…we should sleep now. It's almost midnight."

"Yeah."

Although they agreed on that, they actually ended up going to sleep at four in the morning. Ino's room was extremely cold, so they ended up having to cuddle for warmth.

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A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read!


	2. Chapter 2

Edited: May 01, 2016

A/N: A guest reviewer pointed out the weird vibe between Ino and Hinata in chapter 1. When I started this, my perverted mind was going for some shoujo ai and that's why there was a weird vibe in chapter 1. The same reviewer mentioned that Ino becoming Hinata's best friend seemed too fast. Again, I had to agree. I edited this chapter and removed any mention of them considering each other best friends. They're not there yet. That's all.

I wanted to remind you all that this story is centered around Hinata and team 10. Team 10 is Ino, Shikamaru and Choji. This is an Alternative Universe at this point where Naruto the Last movie didn't occur. If you like this story follow/favorite or leave a review. It makes me very happy. But of course, it goes without saying that I will delete hateful comment when I get the chance. Those don't make anybody happy.

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 **Chapter 2**

It was a Friday and the first day of winter. Thus the weather demanded a jacket as it was chilly and the wind was 15 mph. Ino made plans to visit Shikamaru Nara and Hinata was invited since their work schedule allowed it.

At first, the girl apologetically declined. But when asked about her reason, Hinata explained that she didn't want to intrude, since she barely spoke to Shikamaru anyways. Ino hand waved the excuse and convinced her to come, so she wouldn't be the only girl there.

And so they met up in front of the Yamanaka flower shop.

However, on their way to the Nara mansion, Hinata saw a pastry shop and couldn't contain her craving for a particular sweet. She begged Ino to get on the line with her and keep her company while she paid for the delicious pastry.

They took the cinnamon rolls to go and met Choji along the way. It was obvious that their friendship was different. Choji was pleased. He was very supportive of the friendship because Hinata was the complete opposite of Ino. So it was a good balance for once. But maybe he was being biased because Hinata was similar to him. Not to say that Choji minded Ino's friendship with Sakura, but having more friends was always a good thing. Especially when it comes to keeping the will of fire alive.

The wind blew loudly against their eardrums. Hinata was finding out that her hands were turning into ice cubes, but that didn't stop her from eating her cinnamon rolls. She tried to share them with Ino, but her blond friend was on a diet.

Choji was stuffing his face with chips, and his hands were also turning red from the cold. But he didn't complain, all he cared about was how yummy the chips were.

"I-It's so cold!" Hinata finished her last cinnamon roll and discarded the trash in its proper garbage bin.

"I didn't hear you complaining while you were eating!" Ino retorted.

"I should have waited until arriving to Shikamaru's place." Choji also complained.

"You know you shouldn't be eating cinnamon rolls, at all, they'll make you fat." Ino said. It bothered her how that Hinata didn't seem to care about her figure.

Choji, whom at first had been walking alongside the girls, trailed behind. He looked down to his stomach, and in a not so subtle way, he moped by himself and chewed his chips slowly. Hinata glanced over her shoulder and witnessed the signs of his small depression.

"Choji…" Hinata paused and turned. "Do you think I would look b-bad if I gained a few pounds?" Hinata poked her fingers together as she spoke.

Choji pictured the thought and blushed. Her chest was already huge, imagine what it would become if she gained weight. Why was he thinking about this anyways? Oh yeah her question. He should definitely give her an answer.

"No Hinata, I think you would look even prettier." Ino's anger was shown through the way she grabbed Hinata's wrist and dragged her away while glaring at Choji.

"Hinata, don't look so happy about what Choji said."

"O-Of course I'm happy because I don't have to give up cinnamon rolls. And don't worry Choji, you're fine the way you are. There's someone out there who will like us for who we are."

Choji smiled kindly, as he felt happy having Hinata around the group.

The wind picked up again, and this time Choji couldn't stand the cold. He suggested that they get to their destination as quickly as possible before any of them catch a cold.

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The trio arrived at their destination. The trip would have taken an hour by normal means such as walking. But they got there quickly in just fifteen minutes because they used chakra to jump over the rooftops.

Shikamaru answered the door and waited for the trio to leave their shoes at the entrance. He left them inside the guest room to go fetch his mother which was something he normally wouldn't do. But that's because Hinata was there; his mother always lectured that he had to introduce anyone to her before they step inside her house. Choji had previously updated him, and told him to expect Hinata. You can imagine his confusion. He almost felt like the world suddenly wasn't adding up. Ino and Hinata? What could they possibly even have in common? Almost as though Choji read his best friend's mind; he explained to Shikamaru that Hinata often purchased flowers from Ino's shop. And just like that, it suddenly made sense. Therefor, he wasn't surprised at all that Hinata would be here, at his house.

When Shikamaru returned to the guest room, he introduced Hinata to his mother. He referred to her as Ino's newest friend which actually made the quiet girl feel strange inside. Strange, because Hinata hadn't thought about the nature of their friendship before. Did she considered Ino a friend? It was hard to say. The will of fire was engraved in all of them, thus in the heat of battle she would sacrifice her life to save Ino. But for Shikamaru to say that Hinata was Ino's friend; that basically confirmed Ino no longer considered her just a comrade. It was confusing to Hinata, as she never really had a close friendship with another female her age.

And it didn't help that Ino treated Hinata the same way she did since before the war; at least that's what Hinata thought. But that wasn't really the reality. Ino chose to spend time with her, and invited her to her home, and included her in her little group of precious friends; that was different than before the war.

'Are we really friends now? I really have a lot to learn.'

Now that the pleasantries were out of the way, they followed him to the living room where the tea chest was located. Hinata offered to help the shadow user make tea, but he said it was too troublesome and it would take longer to make it with her help. And thus, Shikamaru's guests settled on a floor cushion around the heating source; which was coming from the low table which had a blanket draped over it.

There was never a moment of silence, as Ino went off to rant. This rant was specifically centered on Hinata and her eating habits. The shy girl blushed and looked at Choji with a knowing smile. Contrary to what Ino believed, Hinata doesn't consume sweets that often.

As Shikamaru set the tea in front of his guests, he noticed the exchange and wondered if Choji was accepting Hinata into their group. But that was a no brainer since she had a likable personality.

Hinata caught the scent of cigarettes when Shikamaru placed the tea in front of her. Her eyebrow's furrowed but she said nothing of the smell.

After tea time, Shikamaru turned to Choji and asked "Wanna play Go?" He waited for his best friend to answer before fetching the board.

Ino changed her seating arrangement so that she can be right next to Hinata. She lay under the heated table and pulled the blanket over her body. She let out a sigh of happiness.

"This heater feels so damn good. Damn you Shikamaru, you always make me wanna move in." Hinata giggled at Ino's comment.

"Ino, you're always saying something like that every time you come over." Shikamaru retorted.

"Really?" Ino couldn't recall a single time.

"Okay, maybe not every time." Shikamaru corrected himself. "You did say that about the Koi pond." He insisted.

"Oh I remember! Something about the koi pond being beautiful and that you wanna move in to feed the fishes every day." Choji recalled.

The three friends laughed while Hinata pictured the fond moment with a smile on her face.

Then her thoughts still lingered on the nice source of heat.

"I can understand Ino's feelings. This kotatsu makes me feel warm and nice. Like all my worries are slipping away..."

"Wait, but don't we all own a kotatsu?" Choji mused. Hinata and Ino had an "ah" moment as they remembered that they did in fact own one.

Ino shrug.

"It isn't the same. Shika, where'd you purchased yours?"

"Huh? This conversation is kind of pointless, come on Choji focus on the game."

"Idiot! It's not pointless!" Ino was ignored by the two boys who had started the game. She sighed and turned to Hinata and asked "What are you worried about?"

Shikamaru and Choji were half listening.

"What?"

"You said something about worries melting away." Hinata had actually said something about slipping away, not melting away. But being near the nice heating source influenced her memories.

"Oh, I wasn't trying to say that I'm worried. But if I were, I'm sure they would have melted away." Ino leaned back into her elbows and sighed dramatically upon hearing Hinata's not-so-interesting answer.

As the afternoon went on, Hinata started to wonder how Kiba and Shino were doing. All of them had been busy with their own clan and she hasn't been able to see them often. Before she knew it, she found herself voicing her thoughts.

"I'm sure those two are fine. I saw them not too long ago. Kiba was his usual self, and so was Shino." Choji replied.

"Really? That's a relief." Hinata's mind wandered off to the sight before her. It was a rare sight not to see him eating chips. Perhaps it was because he didn't want to dirty the pieces that belonged to the game of Go.

"Pshhh, you worry too much Hinata." Ino chipped in.

"You worry a lot too! I mean, we all do…" Hinata replied. Her carefree smile subsided when her eyes met with Shikamaru's. She quickly looked away and stared back at the blond friend.

She started to wonder if the shadow user smokes, but didn't ask.

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Hours went by, and a foreign hand shook her gently. She caught the strong familiar scent from before, and without opening her eyes, she registered that it was Shikamaru.

She murmured his name.

The shadow user froze. How did she know it was him? Shikamaru decided to think about that later.

Eventually, her eyes fluttered open as she stared at the brown eyes that belonged to the host. His face expressed something he normally does with words: troublesome. He removed his hand from her shoulder and backed away. Hinata finally took notice of the arm draped over her waist. Ino had been cuddling her. With one quick motion she lifted Ino's arm, immediately awaking the girl.

Moments later Choji walked inside the living room.

"Your mom is awesome Shikamaru, always will be. She's making some of my favorite food!"

"Shut it Choji! You're loud!" Ino was up in no time, while it took Hinata a few moments to get used to being awake.

Maybe it was because she was a new guest that Shikamaru decided to offer his hand to help her stand. Hinata accepted it while murmuring a 'thank you'.

"Why didn't you help me too?" Ino complained as he let go of Hinata's hand.

"It didn't seem to me like you were sleeping at all." Shikamaru smirked and dodged one of her playful punched. The group exited the living room and went to the dining room.

"Well I don't care what it "seemed" like to you!"

"No fighting guys, you know Yoshino doesn't like it." Choji intervened.

"Yeah Ino, no fighting please." But Shikamaru didn't stop instigating, while a smirk was still present on his face.

"I'm not taking s-sides or anything, but you should have helped Ino." Hinata poked her finger together.

"You're clearly choosing a side, Hinata. Just don't become troublesome, like this girl right here." Shikamaru messed with Ino's hair to spite her.

"What the hell Shika, leave my hair alone!"

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After dinner, the four hung out for a while longer, by the courtyard. The night lights allowed Hinata to see the Koi pond from a distance. It must have been the one they mentioned earlier.

Ino mused out loud. Her musings were about decisions she should make after she gets home and showers.

"Ugh. I should study my medical books. I don't want my knowledge getting rusty, you know."

Shikamaru was laying on his back with his eyes closed. He said he didn't really cared how she spent her time. And that he was just waiting for her to leave. Choji sighed, knowing full well the wrath his best friend had unleashed. He held Ino back from kicking his defenseless friend. She did manage to land a kick to his stomach though, but his replied only fanned her anger.

"You kick like a girl."

Hinata giggled as she concluded that Shikamaru could be sort of an ass, but she didn't word it like that in her head. Hinata could only guess that's how the dynamic of their friendship worked. Her large orbs widened, as she suddenly realized the time. Not that she had glanced at a watch or anything, but she just knew that it was late.

"I should go home now." She said.

Three heads turned to look at her. Hinata immediately averted her gaze and focused on the Koi pond. She wasn't used to having all three of them giving them their full attention. In fact, sometimes she still felt shy even when Shino and Kiba went full-focused-mode on her, as she spoke.

Shikamaru's eyes darted away from Hinata's form, noticing her discomfort. He winced when Ino hit him on the head. Why must it always be the head?

"See Shikamaru, now she wants to go because of you-" Hinata was horrified that she had been the reason behind Ino's assult.

"-No it's not like that. I have a curfew on nights which I'm not working. And I don't want Hanabi getting the wrong message and think that it's okay to be out late at night."

"Hinata, you're a good role model." Choji was clearly impressed at her reasoning.

"Then if you're leaving, I'm leaving too!" Ino said, her gaze danced to Shikamaru, silently daring him to say something mean.

"Sorry Shika, I guess we're calling it a night." Choji said.

The trio collected their shoes and stood outside the Nara mansion. Shikamaru leaned by the gate and waited for the conversation to die down.

"Hey, wasn't there some molester loose on the streets?" Ino recalled this morning's news.

"I'll be careful then, thank you for telling me Ino."

"I'll walk you home Hinata. Shikamaru can walk Ino." Choji thought it was the best thing to do.

Shikamaru threw his head back and groaned in annoyance.

"W-What? No it's fine I'm a capable ninja." Hinata insisted, she didn't want to burden anyone with such a task.

"It's got nothing to do with it, it's our role as man-"

"-Choji give it a rest before Hinata thinks you're a misogynist."

"What?" Choji stared blankly at Ino.

"I don't think you're a misogynist, Choji."

The three froze as killer intent was released from the shadow user. This had been the first time Hinata witnessed Shikamaru losing his temper.

"The setup is obviously troublesome, I'll walk Hinata home."

"Okay Shika, whatever you say." Choji replied.

Shikamaru closed the gate behind him.

The group split into two after they said their goodbyes.

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Shikamaru suggested that they walk because he wanted to enjoy the starry night. Hinata didn't mind, because she would still be home by curfew. During the walk to the Hyuga mansion, Hinata was too quiet. That was shockingly just as troublesome as the opposite.

He paused as she turned to him with a thoughtful look in her eyes.

"Do you smoke?" She asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"You smell like a smoker."

Shikamaru remembered Hinata recognized that it had been him waking her up. That must be how she knew that it was him. But it also implied that she had been sniffing him. No, that wasn't the only possibility, maybe the scent was too strong, or her nose was a bit more sensitive to smells?

"I've been trying to quit." It was the truth, but he wasn't going to elaborate.

"I see."

Shikamaru realized why the silence bothered him. He wasn't used to being around Hinata. He was more comfortable when dealing with strong personalities such as his mother, Ino and Temari. And also, the quiet girl appeared to be so guarded around him. He wondered why that was the case. He tucked that question away and decided to think on it in the future. Maybe he should have walked Ino home instead, since Hinata was clearly more comfortable around Choji.

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A week later, after having a lot fun at the Nara mansion, Hinata's work schedule didn't allow her to see Ino very much. But ever since she begun hanging out with the blond female friend, she had stopped visiting Neji regularly.

'Dear Neji, I'm sorry to have betrayed you this way.'

She decorated Neji's memorial stone with sunflowers, and sat down while bringing her knees to her chest.

'Soon missions are going to go back to being a regular thing in our lives. I won't be able to come here as much.'

Hinata's eyes brimmed with tears.

'Dear Neji, I hope you weren't lonely.'

Her thoughts were interrupted as she was tackled to the ground by a ferocious white beast. And from her perspective, it appeared to be huge. Hinata sat up and was relieved that the ferocious white beast was actually Akamaru. Kiba's voice confirmed it. Akamaru backed away and barked in excitement.

"Hah so I was right! I knew I smelled your tears!" She flailed. Kiba's discovery brought his face inches away from hers. "I don't see you for weeks, and then I find you crying? Kurenai said you were doing better! I guess I can't leave you alone for too long."

"K-Kiba you're wrong, I haven't cried in a long time!"

"So you finally admit to crying." He sniffed her, but she pushed his face away. "Are you hiding something, Hinata Hyuga!?"

"No I'm not hiding anything. And you know that personal space is very important to me." He stood up and exchanged looks with Akamaru.

"If you say so, but speaking of which, when was the last time you even trained!?" He squeezed Hinata's arms as to make a point. Her arm didn't feel as tone as before.

"I haven't really been training…"

"Then climb onboard because that's what we're gonna do!" He helped her get on top of Akamaru, and the trio took off to some training ground.

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"Lee…please…no more." Hinata collapsed on the grass while breathing heavily. Hinata had finished running three laps around the perimeter of the village. She began in the afternoon, and it was now close to evening when she finally buckled due to exhaustion. She lay there staring at the stars, hoping Lee would give her a break.

Apparently Kiba gave up on sparring with her because she had gotten rusty due to the lack of physical training. Thus Kiba gave the thumbs up when Lee asked to take over; since he happened to be there watching the spar.

Lee jogged back to where Hinata lay and looked at her disappointment.

"A young flower bud that is being watered, simply does not ask to stop being watered!"

"But Lee, I'm not a flower bud…"

"Hinata you never complained when you used to train with our late youthful Neji. I'm very aware he used to train you this way as well!"

Hinata sat up and sighed in defeat. Lee was right. But she decided to still call it a day.

"I'm sure if I have a good breakfast I'll do well tomorrow, so can we continue this tomorrow?"

"OF COURSE!"

"Thank you Lee." His presence was intense, but Hinata knew that deep down Lee was just special and kind.

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The next day, Hinata awaited at the training ground that Lee had selected. She was wearing the traditional dark clothes that Hyuga wore during their training under her purple coat. Naruto ran up to her and her brain was firing up all kinds of signal at the sight of her crush. He had spoken words too fast for her to comprehend. Something about Lee, and training. Yes, she knew she was training with Lee, that's why she was here. Still, her brain couldn't keep up with his energetic explanation.

"Hinata?"

"Y-yes Naruto?" He did what he normally does whenever she looks sick; Naruto felt her body temperature by gently placing his hand over her forehead.

"You need to start taking better care of your health, Hinata."

"But I'm not sick…"

"You sure? I mean the signs are there."

'Yeah…the signs that I love you! How embarrassing, as if I could ever say that.' Hinata's cheek turned redder, and she looked away from his worried eyes. She felt bad because he looked genuinely concerned over her wellbeing. If only he knew that her symptoms were that of a love-struck girl. "U-Um Naruto…w-what were you saying about Lee?"

"Oh! I'm sorry that I was speaking too fast! I was just so excited I finally get to spend time with you, you know! But anyways here's the deal, Lee can't come, so he entrusted one of my shadow clones to help you train." Hinata nodded slowly.

'Naruto is happy to be with me!? Naruto…Naruto!'

Naruto was oblivious of the girl's inner struggles. So what he saw was a dedicated ninja who didn't let their health get in the way of becoming stronger.

"You know Hinata, you really are amazing."

'What is he saying…? Where is this coming from?' Her heart skipped more rapidly than before. It became evident to Naruto that she might loose her footing. She looked like she was going to faint any second now.

"Oh no Hinata!" He caught her and helped her sit on a bench. "I think we should skip training, I'm worried about you."

Hinata immediately stood up, and did some stretches. She got into her fighting stance and threw a few punches and a few kicks.

"No Naruto! I'm really okay!"

"Hmmm." He eyed her suspiciously. "If you say so."

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Hinata was well aware that Naruto had crazy amount of chakra and endurance. But this was ridiculous. There was not a single sign of fatigue in him, and they had been at it for five hours. Her motivation for going was that she didn't want this to end; she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.

But Naruto was very aware that she was exhausted and tried to convince her to take a break. She was distracted by his words and was unable to dodge one of his attacks which was aimed at her chest.

He didn't want to hurt her so he stopped the strength behind his attack. Yet it resulted in Naruto's hand coming into contact with her chest. They both stared at each other surprised, but for different reason. Hinata had to remember that this wasn't Ino being her weird self; that this was real. Meanwhile Naruto retrieved and braced himself for the physical assault that never came.

She took a few steps back and covered her chest protectively.

"I'm sorry Hinata!"

"Naruto, I'm aware these things happen."

"I almost forgot how understanding you were. If it were Sakura she would have punched me across the village." He grinned. "Let me know if you wanna ditch Lee's training and make me your sparring partner."

"I couldn't possibly do that to Lee!" She wished she could.

"I was joking, I know you wouldn't do that."

She still wished she could.

They decided to call it a night and said her goodbyes. Naruto waved at Hinata and took off to his next destination.

Hinata rambled, unclear to herself if her intention was to get home. Along the way she passed by the riverbank and lay on the grass. The embarrassing moment with Naruto which she had pushed away came back. Images flooded her head of the way he blushed. Wait…she hadn't realize until now that he had also squeezed her chest. Okay, maybe she should have scolded him.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

She rested her hand over her chest, and felt the beating of her heart.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

'Naruto…he…'

Her arms flailed back and forth while she lay on the grass.

'He t-touched me!'

She stopped her imagination from taking a dive into the gutter. Today had been a good day. She couldn't wait to go home and eat dinner, and then shower and sleep. And perhaps repeat this all over again. She's even willing to repeat the accident with Naruto. But that was very unlikely. Who knows when they'll spend time together again.

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A/N: Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Edited: May 01, 2016: I fixed messy sentences, and rearranged the order of how some things happened so it could flow more smoothly.

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 **Chapter 3**

She did not want to be left behind.

Similar thoughts circled around her head as she walked to work, as she trained with Lee and as she showered before she went to sleep. Hinata could not pinpoint exactly when she started to feel this way. But maybe it was somewhere after Kiba defeated her in a spar without teaming up with Akamaru.

There it was again, after she finished helping grading papers, the thought surfaced once more. It was clearly taking root in her deep subconscious, but in form of fear. Fear that she was becoming weak again. It was there in her stomach. Was there a way to feed it? Will it ever go away with training? Hinata finished her mission late in the afternoon. She said her goodbyes to the teachers and the students and walked around the village, not wanting to go home just yet. Choji just exited a grocery shop which normally sold chips and candy. She ran up to him and said hello.

"Hey Hinata, how was your day?"

It uneventful. But she stopped herself from voicing complain.

"My day was okay. I just got done with my mission." They both exchanged sympathetically smile. Life just wasn't the same. After the war, things had calmed down so much. And even when there's trouble; the trouble was often a rank of a C mission. Indeed Hinata wanted to cry due to boredom, and she also wanted to hug someone as she cried. She missed Neji.

"Have you eaten lunch yet?" She shook her head 'no' as her answer. "Same here. Hey, there's this new place that opened up, would you like to come with me?"

"Sure Choji."

He ripped opened the bag of potato chips and proceeded to eat on their way to said restaurant. For the time being, she forgot about the other hunger that sat on the pit of her stomach. It was a cold day like any other winter, and she could not stop thinking about how she looked forward to spring. Before she knew it, Choji held the door opened for her as they entered the establishment he spoke of. She smiled kindly and thanked him before stepping inside. The atmosphere seemed friendly and inviting. Three waiters vowed and welcomed them with a cheery smile. Choji spoke, and he informed them that he wanted a table for two. They were guided to an area by the window. A menu and water was prompted provided for them. From a bystander's point of view the two looked like they were on a date.

"I like this place." Hinata said as she picked up the menu.

"But you haven't tried anything yet!" Choji was right. But the restaurant's goal was to make you feel like you were eating homemade food. She hadn't had the time to make herself bento to take to work. And this establishment popping into existence just made her life much easier.

She laughed. "You're right. I was making assumptions based on the way the place makes me feel."

Choji smiled. "You have this aura of royalty around you, you know that? Honestly I thought this place would be beneath you."

She blinked. "Eh?" As a cue, Hinata scanned the area and noticed a few civilians and ninjas were glancing over at her. But they looked away as she met their eyes. "Well…it's not like that at all." Choji didn't need to explain to her that his misconception came from her being part of the Hyuga clan. They seemed to have a reputation for looking down on things.

Soon enough, they each decided on what to order. After minutes of idle conversation, food was served. The excitement on her friend's eyes made her smile. He showed equal enthusiasm when it came to actually eating the food. But the speed at which he ate left her concerned.

"Choji, s-slow down!" She chided.

"Come on, you should know by now this is how I eat-" He had a coughing fit after he choked on food.

"S-Stop talking while you're eating that's just as dangerous." She patted his back and handed him a cup of water.

"I can't help it, sorry." Hinata had finished her lunch and slowly sipped on green tea while Choji ordered seconds and thirds. "Oh I just remembered to tell you that next week I'm going on vacation."

"That's so nice. Where are you going?"

"To the Hidden Cloud Village."

"Eh? Why there if you don't mind me asking. I took you for a Stone Village kind of guy." Choji laughed.

"Nope, I'm definitely a Hidden Cloud kind of guy. And," He thought about a particular person for a moment. "There's someone that lives there that I want to see."

"S-Someone? That's amazing…I didn't know you liked anyone." She soon began to sigh inwardly at her lack of romantic life.

"Yeah I don't talk about her much, but we've been exchanging letters."

"That's so romantic." To be honest, she wanted to hear more about his love life, now that she knew that he had one. But Choji was quick to change the subject.

"Anyways, I know next week is also your birthday. I heard from Ino. And I'm sorry that I'm going to miss it..."

"C-Choji! That's alright, it's no big deal." Hinata noticed grains of rice on Choji's long tresses. She reached out and pulled them out for him. He noticed what she was doing and moments later they both laughed.

"Thanks Hinata."

A few tables away from them, a handsome teenager with silver hair kept his eyes on the couple. His sigh was almost tangible. He was there eating lunch disguised as a civilian because everyone always made a big deal due to his title of Hokage. The two young men in front of him were ANBU disguised as his teenage friends. He continued to look at Hinata's table.

'It sure must be nice to be young.'

Kakashi watched the couple leave. He chuckled to himself. Maybe the shy girl was moving on. Or maybe it was a sign that he should make an effort to teach Naruto about other things outside the political world.

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It was a sanctuary of the heaven.

A room filled with steam which floated lazily around the maiden. She submerged herself under the water. It elevated, splashed and ran off. Her head raise out of the water like a waterlily, combing her finger through her damped hair. It was indeed a place for relaxation. Yet her time of peace was cut short when an intruder entered the bathroom.

"Hanabi?" Hinata bridled inwardly. She didn't need the steam to disperse in order to see that her younger sister had a grin on her face. "Hanabi what do you want, you never take baths with me." Through all the fog, she could finally see small details of Hanabi's towel wrapped form.

"Are you going to be here all night?"

One moment Hinata stayed absolutely still, the next, she sank under the water. It was true that she had been bathing for a long time. Her wrinkly fingers and toes were evidence of that.

'I would…if I could.' She replied in her head. This time she used her chakra which allowed her to stay much longer underneath the water. For a moment, she imagined that she was somewhere else. Somewhere far away from the Hidden Leaf Village. 'Could it be that I want to travel…?' While pondering about the nature of her thought, Hinata stood up and grabbed a towel.

"I'm sorry for taking so long Hanabi, today was a very stressful day..." She explained.

"I get it."

Hinata slid the door open and closed it on her way out.

'Maybe I'm having these thoughts because Choji is leaving next week.'

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The same night, a shadow of someone dressed in the Hokage's garb framed the window. It was not an ordinary scene for Naruto to come home to. Usually he caught shadows of a fleeting fan girl. Could it be that today Kakashi sensei was his fan?

'No way, that's creepy.' He shuddered at the thought. In one quick motion he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"I'm home." Naruto said sarcastically.

"Welcome home." The familiar voice of his previous sensei surrounded his small apartment. He got goosebumps from Kakashi's teasing tone. But maybe the awkwardness came from the knowledge that Kakashi still read perverted books.

"Kakashi! What's up? You got a mission for me?" He made no comment as to how unusual it was for the sixth Hokage to be in his apartment.

"No it's not a mission yet," His dark eyes scanned the mess around Naruto's apartment. Empty cups of instant ramen soup sat on the kitchen counter. His unvarying surrounding made it easy for him to judge that Naruto might never change. "I came here to remind you about a certain book I gave you for your birthday." Naruto stiffened. "Have you read it yet?"

"Ah, about that, I've been super busy and you know that!"

"Can't you just use a shadow clone to read it for you?"

"I want to read it myself!" He lied. Naruto was fed up with everyone always thinking that he could just use his shadow clone for everything. Lately, it's as though his shadow clone was supposed to be the solution for everything involving his lack of time.

"Oh I see. You should definitely read it before it's too late."

"Too late? What are you talking about?"

"I have a hunch that you'll understand. That is if you read the book."

After a few seconds of silence, Naruto ran inside his messy room and found the book Kakashi spoke of. By the time Naruto came back to the living room, he was gone.

'That stupid Kakashi! He probably did that on purpose; hinting that reading a dumb book is going to enlighten me about things I don't understand. It's a lame romance novel! There's zero adventure, and no action what so ever!'

Naruto showered after dinner. And when he emerged from the bathroom, his lower body was wrapped in a white towel. With his free hands he used another towel to dry his hair. Then, using his wind element, he dried his hair. Soon enough, Naruto was dressed in his pajamas. And as he passed by the sofa, he saw the book resting on the low table. The book cover had an ambiguous picture depicting a man chasing the shadow of a curvy women. Naruto glared down at the book which Kakashi had gifted him on October. He picked it up and read the name of the author. He sighed, his mind filling with fond memories of Jiraiya sensei.

'I should probably read it before Kakashi assigns this book as an official mission that has deadline and everything that comes along with it: like a mission report. Well, more like book report. Damn you Kakashi! I don't have time to be messing around!'

Yet he stayed up the entire night reading.

Seven hours later, his alarm rang, signaling that it was five a.m. Naruto had bloodshot red eyes, and he looked incredulously at the time. He slammed the book down on the night table and turned off the ringing. He sat on his bed and ran his hand through his hair. It wasn't strange for him to go through sleepless nights due to some assignment. But this book was not going to help him become the Hokage! And it angered him how he couldn't stop flipping through pages!

'The heroine in the book reminded me of Hinata. When we were kids, she used to faint only around me. Like the time I tried to pull off a prank by hanging upside down of the ceiling of a hospital, and Hinata entered. She was so close I felt her breathe…and then she hit my head and fainted.'

It was strange to get started on the day with an uncharacteristically gloomy mood. Naruto walked to the kitchen and absentmindedly prepared breakfast.

'Then there were other times she blushed and fainted like crazy. Now that I think about it she kind of stopped doing those things after the battle with Pain.'

He warmheartedly remembered the time when she jumped in front of him to save him from Pain. That was one of the fondest memories he has of her, because it showed how much she cared for him as a friend.

'Wait a minute, if we go by this book's logic, Hinata has had a thing for me since we were kids! She used to blush and faint, so then when she said she l-loved me…OH MY GOD I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!'

He nearly dropped the coffee mug he was holding. His heart started beating violently, and he felt a weird surge of adrenaline upon remembering that Hinata almost fainted around him quite recently. He tried not to think about _that_ day too much, because it only ended with him recalling how nice it felt to touch her chest. Which wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for Lee! Naruto hadn't spoken to her in a long time, and then Lee came into the picture and entrusted him with her training. And when he met up with her, she looked really faint, which he mistook for an illness. She always did look sort of fragile.

'No no no no no! This can't be right! Maybe since I didn't get any sleep I've been reading too much into. But that's because of what Kakashi said. He said I would understand something if I read this book. But it would explain a lot about why Hinata has always been so weird…'

He let out an uncharacteristic laugh that made him sound like a maniac.

'As if. I really am losing it. I was so lame back then, and a loser. There's no way that she actually liked me.'

He stood by the window and leaned against the wall. Half a piece of toast was already gone. He stared outside his apartment window, and saw the birds flying. His toast was gone; it's what happens when he's so focused on something else. Before he knew it, his coffee was also gone as well.

'Alright, enough reflecting! I'm sure I got it all wrong. It has got to be a mistake on my part. B-But what if it's not…Kurama! Help me out here!'

' **I'm not your personal encyclopedia of knowledge kit. There are things I still don't get about you humans. But if I had to take a guess, it's that you're right.'**

He put the coffee mug inside the sink.

'Could you stop calling me that? We're buddies now! Friends forever! Anyways…even if I'm right, this could be a thing of the past. Hinata and I sometimes see each other and she's actually able to form coherent sentences. Could it be that she has moved on because I didn't even acknowledging her confession? I'M SUCH A JERK! UGHHHH!'

He was hitting his head against the kitchen's wall by this point. A waterfall of blood and tears drizzled down his face. Kurama lazily healed Naruto's wound.

' **Harming yourself isn't very productive. And what if she did move on? What's it got to do with you? Weren't you always ranting and raving about being in love with Sakura?'**

He remained silence. His best friend Sasuke had made it obvious that he loved Sakura right before he left to go explore the world. And somehow, that didn't bother Naruto so much. He felt happy for them. That must mean he doesn't love Sakura in that kind of way, or so he believed.

' **You should leave it alone. She's probably moving on and her heart is slowly healing. You shouldn't mess with the healing process by bringing something that's a thing of the pass.'**

'Didn't you just say that you weren't an encyclopedia of knowledge?'

' **It doesn't take much to make up an advice. It's a piece of cake actually.'**

'Right…but I can't just leave things alone. What if she's still waiting for an answer? But then again…what will my answer be?'

' **Of course. Go ahead and ignore my really good advice. Just don't come back to me wailing about how you messed up.'**

'Huh? You just admitted to bullshitting the advice!'

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A few days later, Choji was walking along with Shikamaru on the busiest side of the streets. The potato chips lover waved at Hinata and said hi to her. Their conversation was about the food items he purchased on that day. The reason he purchased many things was because his mother was going to help him cook a big dinner. Hinata learned that Choji liked to buy food ingredients from particular vendors because they were the main suppliers to one of the restaurant his cousin was employed at.

The conversation took a turn as Choji was excited to invite her to an event that he would be hosting at his place the next day. And that explained Choji's big shopping list. He said that he was going to miss his home, the food, and his friends of course. So Choji wanted to have a get together before his departure. Shikamaru had stayed quiet throughout the whole interaction. Half of him observed the two, while the other half thought how troublesome it was that their conversation dragged on for too long. The shadow user nudged his best friend, who got the hint. They parted with words and waving gestures.

The next day, Shikamaru, Kiba, Ino and Sakura were first one to arrive at Choji's house. There was talk about how some people were going to show up later. Dinner was wrapped in plastic as they waited for the others to arrive. In the meantime everyone was in the living room drinking juice and talking. Three boxes of cake lay over the kitchen's counter.

Upon Hinata's arrival, Ino and Kiba rushed to hug her. They ended up in a glaring contest as they tried to take possession of the girl. Choji stepped in and pulled Hinata away and asked her to follow her to the kitchen. There, he showed her the three boxes cakes that was on the counter. He described that he felt bad that he was going to miss her birthday, thus he wanted to celebrate.

"C-Choji, thank you!" Her gratitude was followed by a hug. Choji awkwardly patted her back. Shikamaru lurked by the door, smirking at his best friend's obvious display of embarrassment. In time, the rest of the group started pouring in. After dinner, Ino brought in the cake and everyone sang happy birthday to her. It was really a happy time for her.

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You immediately know when someone is avoiding you due to the small things they do such as never looking at you. Then, if you approach them, the person would be quick to react and run away. And when you finally engage them in a conversation, they'll politely try to end it while never looking at you in the eye. But this happens when the person avoiding you doesn't know a thing about hiding their feelings. And that's how the situation was with Naruto. His reason: he wasn't ready to face her just yet. Just being in the same room with her made him feel nervous and self-conscious.

Naruto had been very aware of her throughout the whole night. So when she slipped away from the group, he had also notice her gone. His eyes scanned all of his friends who hadn't pay any mind to her absence. Kiba, Shino and Ino wanted to let her breath, so they didn't ask her what was wrong. It just didn't seem like the place for them to confront her about it. But she had been missing for more than ten minutes. Naruto knew where she had gone to, but was hesitant to keep her company. After all, the two hadn't really spoken all night since she was always surrounded by Shino and Kiba. And also because he had been avoiding her.

'Why am I running away?' Lately, he has been confessed to by many girls. And he was quick to turn them down. Yet, the thought of turning Hinata down didn't cross his mind. But he wanted to let her know that he knew about her feelings. He almost wanted to ask her not to stop loving him. Naruto slid the door open and stepped outside. Hinata's was hugging her frame and rubbing her arms as to keep warm. She was outside taking a break because she felt like if she hadn't gotten away from the group, she would start to cry because of Neji's absence. And on top of that, it seemed to her that she had somehow upset Naruto since he had been very evasive.

"Hey Hinata..." She turned to him with a weak smile. Even his tone seemed different. It wasn't the cheerful and carefree manner which she was accustomed to.

"N-Naruto, what are you doing out here?"

"I was wondering why you're by yourself."

"I needed some time alone. My feelings swell up and become hard to manage when I'm reminded of Neji…" She noticed the hands at his side turned into fist.

"I'm sorry Hinata…"

"There's nothing to be sorry for. It was Neji's will for us to…for us to live on."

"It's so cold out here." He started to shiver. Naruto finally noticed she had a coat and scarf on. When did she put those on?

"Yeah it is. One of my fond memories happened during the winter, on a cold day such as this." She smiled to herself as she remembered that Naruto had saved her from the bullies on a snowy day. It wasn't snowing today. Evidently, he had been staring at her for longer than necessary. He looked away when she started to blush.

"Hey, wasn't it snowing the first time that I met you? Man I was so uncool and lame, the way I got beat up by those bullies."

Her eyes widened. His heart sank when he noticed her expression of embarrassment. Her feelings for him; that's all he's been thinking about lately. And it fascinated him, her unwavering heart. At the same time, it made him feel so happy to know that someone loved him that much.

"N-Naruto, I can't believe you still remember that…"

"Why wouldn't I remember? You were so cute! I think that's why they tried to bully you in the first place." He tried not to look at her as he said that. But he regretted it when he did. She was as red as a cherry, and the fact that he was responsible for it made him feel funny. He blushed and looked away.

' **HAHAHA. It looks like she has it pretty hard for you. I can't believe I never noticed this before.'**

'Guess I'm not the only idiot.'

' **You can't blame a demon for not noticing something this petty. But you can blame a human for being this ignorant. So Naruto, you're still stupid.'**

Choji slid the door open and his eyes drifted back and forth between the two. Hinata didn't look too well. And Naruto seemed troubled about something. Maybe something happened.

"Hinata?"

"I-I'm okay..."

Choji was quick to ignore her response. He dropped the bag of potato chips and used his chakra to increase his speed to catch her as she fell.

"Hinata!"

Kiba and Shino's ears perked when they heard Choji sounding concerned over their friend. They immediately rushed outside, followed by Ino and Shikamaru. The rest eventually joined the scene. Kiba didn't need to ask what happened. But his chakra boiled in anger as he glared at an awkward looking Naruto. Wait, why did Naruto look so remorseful?

"Oi, what did you do to Hinata!?"

"I didn't do anything I swear!"

"He swears he didn't do anything, yet he looks and acts so guilty." Shino stated.

Choji cut through the crowd, with Hinata still in his arm. He decided to let her rest in his bedroom for the time being. Meanwhile, back outside the porch which was facing the courtyard, Kiba and Shino stayed to question Naruto.

Sakura was worried. It was in her nature to worry since she was a medic. Thus she followed Ino not too far behind. Soon she was my Hinata's side examining the girl. She turned to Choji and Ino and explained to them that she will be fine. That Hinata merely fainted like she normally does around Naruto. She moved away to give Ino space to also examine the girl.

Ino kneeled next to the bed and brushed Hinata's hair off her face and sighed. Her eyes remained glued to her unconscious friend, as she leaned her elbows on the bed.

"Hey Ino, does Hinata still…?" Choji knew what Sakura meant to ask. And so did Ino.

The blond girl nodded as she stared ahead and glared at the wall. "I heard from Sai that you told Naruto that you love him. It's that true?" It was Choji's cue to leave when he felt a weird atmosphere radiating from his best friend Ino. It was a dark purple aura, and it almost looked tangible. He knew this conversation should be had in private. Ino was normally dramatic, but the more audience she had, the more dramatic she becomes. So for Sakura's sake, Choji left the room.

Sakura finally decided to answer after Choji had given them privacy.

"The situation was complicated. And it happened a long time ago. Naruto knows I didn't mean it."

"Is that what you believe?" She said dryly.

"Look, I don't love Naruto, and you know that. The one I love is Sasuke. Even if Sasuke isn't around, I would never betray Hinata in such a way. We all care about her. We've been cheering for her since day one."

The wooden floor creaked behind Sakura. The two had been so immersed with the subject they hadn't known there was another person behind them.

"Shikamaru, what is it?" Ino's steel-toned didn't faze him.

"I was just fetching a board game. It's here inside Choji's room. And you should probably stop talking around an unconscious body. From what I hear they can sometimes listen in on conversations and what not." Shikamaru was the only one to notice Hinata's body flinched.

"We were done talking anyways, right Sakura?" Ino locked arms with Sakura, and dragged her away. She didn't spare a second glance, so she missed the look on Shikamaru's face. He was nearly glowing with mischief. His smirk didn't leave as he took his time to get the board game that he wanted to play.

"Hinata, I know you're awake."

Her response was a typical cherry hued blush. She sat up abruptly, and moved her feet to the floor, while still sitting on Choji's bed.

"S-Shikamaru, please don't tell them. I didn't mean to pretend to be asleep, even though their conversation made me really happy…"

"Ah. Sure. It'll be our secret." He said sarcastically. The fact that this situation happened in the first place made no sense to him. Hinata had professed her feelings to Naruto, in front of an audience. She nearly died trying. And yet she still seemed to be suffering. Why? "Wait, did Naruto ever reply to your confession?"

"N-No…"

Crap. He probably made her feel worst. He did a mental face palm.

'Naruto really is an idiot. All night he's been acting like he finally is aware of Hinata's feelings. If he keeps it up, Hinata is going to catch on.' Shikamaru thought to himself.

Hinata looked so dejected, as she stared ahead while not focusing on anything in particular. The shadow user didn't know her at all so cheering her up was out of the question. Yet he felt like saying some words to her that contained some truth to it.

'If I were to give her a direct hint that Naruto knows about her feelings, it'll probably cause trouble later on. Maybe I should keep it vague. After all, I could be wrong about this.' Shikamaru set down the adventure board game, and sat next to Hinata.

"Hinata, it's not really my business to say anything to you, but based on what I have observed tonight, I think you shouldn't give up on Naruto." He was glad at how vague that came out, yet the results were amazing. She no longer appeared depressed. Instead, she seemed to be considering his words. You could almost see her thinking process as her brows furrowed.

'Based on what he observed…? Somehow, I believe him. Shikamaru knows Naruto better than I do, maybe he saw something that I didn't…that means I need to keep a closer eye on Naruto.' She realized Shikamaru wasn't so bad after all. She regretted not realizing it a lot sooner. But she should have known he was a caring person, after all, his best friend was Choji; who is really kind.

"S-Shikamaru, thank you." She took his words to the heart. She wasn't going to give up! He nodded and grabbed the board game and exited the room. He hadn't expect her words of gratitude to sound so genuine.

'Ugh, what the hell am I doing? Meddling with other people's affairs is Ino's department, not mine. I hate it when I do manipulative things. Troublesome.'

Nothing exciting happened for the rest of the night. That's what some would say. But Hinata was happy to have Kiba, Shino and Naruto around her. Although Hinata and Naruto didn't talk directly to each other, they did make a lot of eye contact with one another. His smile brightened the room, or so she believed. And his laughter lifted her soul. His silliness kept her smiling. And his blue eyes which she loved so much kept her heart racing.

Sure, she blushed a lot around him, but he didn't seem to ask about it anymore. Naruto also didn't assume that she was sick. Sometimes, even Naruto himself would blush. Hinata wondered why that is. She choked on her drink. Naruto was quick to come to her aid and pat her back. She eventually recovered from choking on liquid. But her eyes remained widen as Shikamaru's words rang through her head. She caught on to what the shadow user had meant.

'D-Does Naruto finally know how I actually feel? O-Or could it be that he lo-loves me back!?' Hinata had the chance to be up close to Naruto, and all her observation led to those possible conclusion. 'No, perhaps I'm being delusional.' She looked away from a concerned Naruto, and her eyes actively searched for Shikamaru, whom had been smirking at her. It was almost as though his smirk said that he knew that she had figured it out. She averted her gaze and no longer was she able to look at Naruto in the eyes for the rest of the night.

'Oh boy. Well, this got interesting. Now I have to figure out why Naruto hasn't said anything to her about it.' Shikamaru thought to himself. He looked at Choji, and his best friend had a knowing smile on his lips. 'Hmm, I wonder if Choji could guess the reason as to why that is.'

"Shikamaru."

"Hmm?"

"I'm really going to miss you guys."

"We're gonna miss you too, buddy. It's only for a month, right?"

"Right. I hope those two finally get together by the time I come back." They both smiled, as they were both on the same page. They turned back to the adventure game which they were mindlessly role playing. Shikamaru eventually yawned. Maybe he should spend the night.

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Thank you for reading. I hope you liked this chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

Edited: April 27, 2016, I fixed the grammars I missed last time I edited. But I'm not sure I got them all. T_T

A/N: Thank you, thank you! I want to assume I am now writing for more than 15 people! And thank you for the encouraging reviews.

For **guest** reviewer Misha: Team 8 and 10 shall interact more in the future. Setting up a misunderstanding between Hinata and Choji so that Naruto gets jealous? I like that idea.

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 **Chapter 4**

It was December 27, and she had just turned seventeen.

Her father sent a maid to summon her downstairs. Hinata put down the romance novel and jumped out of bed while fixing the shoulder of the pastel sweater which she wore around the house. It was a cold day, so she also wore thick black stockings underneath her white shorts. The girl practically flew down the stairs, not wanting to keep her father waiting.

"Those friends of yours are here."

"R-Really?" Hiashi waved her on after she stood, uncertain, in the middle of the hall. She hadn't expected anyone to come visit, because she was afraid that she would be disappointed. Hinata rushed past her smiling father, sliding the door to the guest room to reveal Shino, Kiba and Akamaru waiting for her. However, Akamaru was under a transformation technique to look like Kiba. The only difference was that Akamaru still had his dog tail.

"Hinata! Happy birthday." Kiba got on his feet and hugged her. Akamaru joined the hug by wrapping its arm around Hinata's leg, happily wagging its tail.

"WOOF WOOF!" Hinata almost burst into giggles. She never gets tired of the adorableness that was Akamaru.

"Thank you Kiba, Akamaru!" She looked at Shino and smiled.

"Happy birthday."

"Thanks Shino."

Wrapped gifts were received. Next thing, the three stormed past Hinata. Kiba led the way up the stairs, and into Hinata's room. The boys were oblivious of the admiring looks they received from the house maids.

However, the shy girl stayed behind, fighting the bittersweet tears. She had been so sure nothing was going to happen on her birthday because they had celebrated it at Choji's house. Therefore she felt like she couldn't ask for more, because it would be selfish to ask for too much. With arms full of gifts, she used her foot to close the door to the guest room.

She giggled upon remembering that her previous maids didn't like her teammates. More precisely, they didn't like Kiba. But that was understandable, since Kiba was wild and free as opposed to the way they were raised. And that created a clash between her previous maids and Kiba.

Hiashi had hired a new staff. These staff members were actually normal civilians who needed a job. The previous maids who were from the branch family went their separate ways to try and become ninjas or house wives. One of them was expected to take their genin exam.

"Lady Hinata, we took the liberty of preparing an ice cream cake for you. Would you like for us to bring it upstairs, along with beverages?" She looked incredulously at them. Did they know that Kiba and Shino were going to come?

"Um, yes please!"

Heads turned upon Hinata's arrival. Kiba acknowledged her with wide grin. Akamaru barked and happily settled on her bed and curled into a ball. Shino, noticed the novel on the edge of the bed which was about to fall. He picked it up and scanned through the content, not surprised that the main character's dialogue sounded similar to Hinata's personality. In an uncharacteristic manner, Hinata ran up to Shino and snatched the book away from him. A blush spread across her cheek, as her lips pouted. She scolded him with her eyes, and Shino merely smiled. But she couldn't see it because it was concealed behind his dark green turtle neck sweater.

Their attention shifted to Kiba, who started laughing and teasing their shy teammate. He took off his leather jacket, and underneath that he had a button down shirt. His body looked ripped and muscular against such shirt. His impish smile confirmed that he was aware of her surprised.

"Kiba…what in the world?" Hinata walked up to him and felt his abs through his shirt. She poked his biceps with a silly smile on her face. Shino sulked for a short moment, and then collected himself.

"I helped him with his over the top training regimen and as a result," Shino paused and lifted half of his sweater to show his abs. "Results."

"Oh my, not you too. Tell me, do you guys want to look like Killer B?"

"Nawh, that's Shino's idol, not mine. I just did it for the ladies. Believe it or not, your boy Kiba has quite a fan base." Akamaru barked in agreement. Hinata wasn't sure if wanted to know that and laughed nervously. She turned to Shino, hoping that Kiba's influence didn't turn Shino into some kind of gigolo.

"Unlike our knuckle friend, I didn't do it for the ladies, nor did I do it just because I look up to Killer B." He paused to take a breath. "If every person knew the reason behind every decision they've made in life-"

"Oh lord, here we go."

"Shino, I think I get it. You don't have to tell me that you don't know why you even did it." Shino nodded.

Finally, the ice cream cake arrived, along with the drinks. The maids moved quietly about, while being very careful as to not let their hungry eyes lingered on Hinata's teammates. In their opinion, Shino and Kiba were very handsome. Earlier, while inside the kitchen, they speculated if Hinata had ever dated one of them. Hanabi, whose footsteps doesn't make a sound, walked in on them to grab an apple. Her deadpan response had surprised the maids as she denied her sister having any type of involvement with her teammates. But did they even have a chance?

Hanabi entered her sister's room as the maids left. She stepped over Kiba's body who lay on the floor with his hand supporting his head. Hinata sighed deeply and stopped herself from scolding her. Maybe Hanabi wanted to hang out with her because it was her birthday?

"Oi, this little brat sister of yours has the worst manner."

"Hanabi, be nice, it's my birthday." Hinata said as she joined Shino's side. They were both sitting across from Kiba.

Akamaru moved, and made space for Hanabi, as the younger heiress sat on the bed.

"I'm sorry big sis, I mistook one of your teammates for a floor rag." She turned to Akamaru, and her eyes sparkled upon noticing its tail.

'So cute!' She thought to herself. The only thing she hated is that Akamaru was an image of Kiba, except for its cute puffy and fury tail. She turned back to Kiba, and noticed his muscle. "Hey, what happened to you?" In seconds, she knelt next to Kiba and poked his abs one time.

"Wow little lady, hands off the man."

Shino rolled his eyes, as Hinata ignored them. She was busy cutting the cake.

Hanabi stood up and crossed her arms.

"What you're lacking in personality you're trying to make up for, with your body." She tilted her head back, a condescending look on her face, while she placed a hand on her hips. "I pity the girls who think you're cute." Hinata paused once she heard this. Has Hanabi always been this forwardly rude to people? It was a side of her sister she had suspected existed. It reminded her of a young Ino or Sakura.

'I hope this phase doesn't last.' Hinata thought bitterly.

"Gross, I'm not seeking the approval of a little girl."

"Huh?" She turned to Hinata. "Big sis, can I show Kiba that this little girl can make him eat dirt."

"No Hanabi. But, do you want cake?"

"Yes! That's what I came here for! I saw them making it this morning, it looked so yummy."

"Hinata, would you like some help with pouring the beverages?" She nodded.

"Thanks Shino."

They ate.

All the movement inside the room, along with Kiba and Hanabi's laughter burned into her mind. She made a conscious effort to memorize this scene because one could ever be too sure how much the future could change. Having no better idea, Kiba suggested a game that she was all too familiar with. It was the same adventure game that she had play countless time with Ino. Her first thought was that her little sister, along with her teammates were at a disadvantage since she knew the game's tricks and strategies; by this point she was a veteran.

Hinata went to find the board game but paused to look at the gifts that lay on the floor, by her closet.

Shino took notice of where her eyes lingered the most, and he suggested that she opens her gifts. A pair of sunglasses; no doubt from Shino. A necklace with a bone pendant; she suspected it was Akamaru. A knitted gray scarf, hair clips, candles, and a pair of gloves; Kiba always liked to outdo himself, or perhaps he tried to hide the fact that he didn't know what to get her; and just got a bunch of random stuff.

And then Akamaru's stomach growled. Hanabi swears she saw the dog blushing. Laughter ensued, but Shino could not understand why a stomach grumbling was so funny.

"I'm going to get Akamaru some food-"

"I'll do it big sis! I know where it is!" Hanabi skipped away happily. Akamaru followed Hanabi outside the room.

"Akamaru, don't cause them trouble, you hear?"

"WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!"

Hanabi returned with Akamaru, each with two bowls filled with nutritious food; her sister always kept it in stock in the event Kiba came over with Akamaru. Akamaru ate his food while the rest had more juice and cake. Afterwards, Hinata got up to fetch her camera because this moment wasn't going to last forever, unless she were to capture it. Using a bug clone technique, Shino took the picture which would later be added to their collection of treasured memories. Little did they know, Hanabi looked forward to getting a copy of the group picture; when she was younger she always wanted to be around Hinata and her friends.

"New year's is around the corner. Let's all visit the shrine together!" Hanabi suggested. Kiba gave her a curious look, and she blushed. "W-What? I bet it's something my big sis would want."

Shino agreed.

"That sounds lovely." Hinata said with a smile.

'Right Neji?' She looked to the side, as though his spirit was right next to her.

"Hinata, what are you looking at?"

"Nothing..." Hinata made a mental note to visit Neji.

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New Year rolled by and they were in their first week of January. Just yesterday, the first day of January, Hinata visited the shrine with Hanabi and her teammates. They made wishes, took pictures; since both girls were in a kimono. And then parted their separate ways.

It was the afternoon, and a slow day of work. There weren't that many missions request coming in today, thus Hinata had some time off. She was currently inside the Hokage's office, fumbling through her request.

"Lord Kakashi, d-do you have any mission for me? S-Something like an e-escort mission?" Hinata's nerves shook when his dark eye landed on her. He set down the scroll he was reading and studied her for a moment. He rested his chin over his folded his hand. "It's j-just that I-I would like to go o-outside the village every once in a while…?"

"So what you seek is an adventure outside these walls. Sorry Hinata but all those missions are taken at the moment." Her eyes were downcast, and she sighed in defeat. "But I'll see what I can do for you next week after I speak with Lord Hiashi."

"T-Thank you Lord Kakashi!" She bowed and slowly closed the door behind her.

'I didn't know I needed father's permission for such a thing. Lately he's been letting me do whatever I want. I just hope that leaving the village for long periods of time isn't pushing my luck with my new freedom.'

She contemplated on leaving the building. But before that, she turned on her Byakugan to see if any of her friends were there. Her face expressed happiness when she spotted Naruto. She deactivated the Byukugan, and ran towards Naruto's direction.

While making a turn down the hall, she nearly bumped into Lord Kakashi's assistant. Hinata spun very quickly and gracefully maneuvered her way around her to avoid collusion. However, all the documents the assistant had on her arms fell to the floor due to the surprise she felt.

"S-Sorry! I'm so so so sorry!" Hinata helped pick up the documents.

"You know you shouldn't be running around the hall. That's what the windows are for."

"I was distracted."

"I do feel lucky that I caught you before you left, since you have the Byakugan you can check on someone for me." Hinata tilted her head in interest. "I need you to confirm Nara's location. I would check on him myself, but he hates the sight of me." It made sense, since the sight of her probably meant more work for the lazy guy.

She was freaking out. She was going to miss the chance to see Naruto.

'Why did this have to happen?' She activated her Byakugan, and witnessed Naruto just exiting the building. He seemed excited about wherever it is that he was going. Hinata exhaled slowly, trying to get a handle on her disappointment. She'll have to try and catch Naruto another time.

With the Byakugan still activated, she spotted Shikamaru at the rooftop of the Hokage tower. He appeared to be watching the sky while his hand looked as if it was tucked inside his pockets.

"Tell me already! Is Nara still doing work in his office?" She flinched.

"He appears to be-to be um-"Kakashi's assistant raised a quizzical brow.

"So he's not in his office?"

"He appears to be finished with work."

"That's impossible, are you covering up for him? Where is he? Is he on the roof again?" She would've shaken her fist if her arms hadn't been overwhelmed by the documents.

"I'll go get him for you." It was the least she could do, after lying.

"Thanks, you're an angel. Just don't tell Nara I sent you to look for him. Make it seem like a coincidence, then try getting him to go back to work."

'W-What? But I'm not Sakura or Ino…' Kakashi's assistant left, and Hinata remained on the hall with her shoulder slouched in distress. She sighed, as she dragged her legs towards Shikamaru's location.

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They exchanged 'Happy New Year' greetings, before he proceeded to search through his pockets. Shikamaru first took out a cigarette. However, he had trouble lighting it due to the wind. After multiple attempts he had successfully lit it.

They both watched the smoke float and disperse. He chuckled when he noticed Hinata's nose cringed at the smell. He closed his brown eyes, and took in the scent, while pretending to appreciate it. He hated the smell of course, but he missed Azuma Sensei, and also his father.

"I thought you were trying to quit smoking." Hinata said.

"I'm not smoking." He crossed his arms while the cigar remained on his right hand, between his middle and index finger.

'You _are_.' Her attention dawdled on the cigarette which he didn't bother to smoke. So he was a passive smoker, she mused.

Shikamaru seemed distant today; completely different than the person that sat next to her and told her not to give up. He no longer seemed approachable. Was she imagining it? The more she thought about it, the more it occurred to her that perhaps his kindness had been a onetime moment of which would not repeat.

Maybe today he was just being his habitual self; maintaining his distance and all. She thought about how unusual it was to be speaking to him without Ino or Choji around. But then again, she was there on a mission to get him back to the office.

A messenger bird flew away from the Hokage Tower. It pulled all her attention away from the young man next to her. She watched it fly in the direction towards the village's gate. That messenger bird was going on an adventure, while she remained inside these walls.

"What do you want Hinata?" He finally asked. It hadn't occurred to her that the silence was bothersome to the shadow user.

"It's nothing," What's more, Choji forgot to leave her a manual on how to talk to Shikamaru without feeling intimidated. "It's not like I purposely sought you out." There was no way she was going to tell him that due to her inability to keep her cool, the Hokage's assistant found out that he was loafing around.

"I know what the Byakugan eyes look like right after they're deactivated. You used it quite recently, didn't you? So you _did_ seek me out." He gently tapped the cigarette and tiny burning dust withered off.

'H-How does he know all of that? No, that can't be right, my eyes do not look like anything in particular.' She figured he was bluffing and fishing for an answer; since it was strange for Hinata to come here on her own account. 'He's sneaky.'

"W-What do my eyes look like?" She played along.

"Just forget it, it's all such a drag to explain." She had a hard time concealing a victory smile as he glared.

"Okay." It was her reply.

Shikamaru continued to study her as though she was going to cave in at any moment. She nervously looked around.

In that moment, Hinata had revelation; it was his know-it-all chocolate brownie eyes that intimidated her. No person ever wants to be looked at, by a stranger, in a way that makes them feel bare. Like they had something they were hiding, something which Shikamaru looked like he could easily discover. Then again, she _was_ hiding something.

"Are you always this quiet around others?" He's been meaning to ask her that question, ever since that time he walked her home.

"No I'm not. I'm not always this quiet." She reiterated. "I-I guess I'm trying not to be a bother."

Shikamaru thought about her words for a moment. He also tried to retrieve a memory of a situation where he might have done something to make her act this way towards him. He couldn't recall any. What he _did_ manage to recall was the ways he tried to be on his best behavior.

He doesn't curse around her.

He offered his hand that one time to help her stand.

He even walked her home; he hadn't meant to though.

Then the last time they spoke, in which he gave some sort of encouraging advice to her.

He had come to a conclusion:

"That's quite the negative view you have of me. I thought you had more faith in others. Unless it was something I said or did directly to make you think that way."

'Which I don't recall.' Shikamaru added in his mind.

'Do I really distrust others?' She pondered. Every since she graduated from the academy, her teacher, teammates, Hanabi, Neji and Naruto had been her only world. She trusted them very much. Thus, she hadn't bother to form any other bonds until recently. So it came to her as a surprise that perhaps she did doubt others.

"Shikamaru...You didn't say or do anything, but you find so many things troublesome. Naturally, I thought that conversations are one of them."

The answer had been so simple. Of course, he should have known that she would assume that about him. Perhaps he was the one that had more faith in others.

"The way I see it, it shouldn't matter to you what I think, you should just be yourself. Conforming to others is way more troublesome." She appeared to have accepted his words as she looked away.

Hinata felt silly for thinking Shikamaru could figure her out just by staring at her. Otherwise, why would he be asking her all those question? She didn't realize she was smiling as she stared at the sky; while he went back to staring at her. Only this time, he was trying to understand why her eyes were able to capture the reflection of the sky; giving them the appearance that they were a sky blue color with a tint of lavender.

"I don't know why you like watching clouds." Her eyes met his, and she detected his irritation before it quickly vanished. "I-I didn't mean to offend you!"

"It's such a drag that I have to explain this. Just watch the clouds and tell me what you see."

"I-I think I see a dolphin. And a bunch of other things that's indescribable…?" He groaned when she looked away from the sky.

"If focus, you'll figure it out." Was he mad about something? At this point, she resorted to guessing.

"Maybe you like watching the clouds because they're mysterious and fascinating. No cloud is ever alike, so that's why it's not boring." She was amazed at her ability to conjure up these statements. "Plus, it's a free show." Hinata tried to confirm if she was right. But the shadow user turned away rather abruptly. "W-What is it, Shikamaru?"

He must have been outside for too long, because the back of his ears were now noticeably red.

"I gotta get back to work. Later Hinata."

"Ah. Okay." Hinata stood there, and something finally hit her. She had forgotten she was supposed to tell Shikamaru to go back to work! In the end, it all worked out. Once Shikamaru was at a distance he turned around and said:

"You explained it fine. I do love free entertainment." They exchanged smiles before his departure.

'Poor guy, you can tell he doesn't smile much.' It was probably true. If one were to compare their smile, Shikamaru's expression looked forced most times. Her mind quickly took a turn, and thoughts of Naruto began to flood her. He was in such a happy hurry, and it made her wonder where he was headed. She tried not to think about it too much.

'Since I'm free right now, maybe I should visit Ino.'

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Orange rooftop, pale yellow walls, red window stile, golden muntins and turquoise window glass. Hinata ran inside the flower establishment. To her surprise, Ino jumped over the counter, while ignoring a customer. She intruded her personal space by hugging her.

"Hinata, Happy New Year! I missed you!"

"Happy New Year Ino!"

"What about my flowers?"

Ino turned to a customer and laughed nervously.

"I'm sorry miss, I just haven't seen my friend Hinata in a while." That was a lie, unless Ino considered a few days to be a 'while'. Hinata stopped by a few days ago to purchase sunflowers like she normally does just before visiting Neji.

Ino moved to one side of the flower shop, and prepared a lovely bouquet of flowers for said customer. While the shy girl strolled around by herself and paused to smell and feel the textures of the different types of flowers. She wasn't really thinking about anything in particular, but when she closed her eyes to smell a flower, she remembered that Choji will be back in two weeks. Hinata wondered if he had a romantic time as he welcomed the New Year with the person that he likes.

Ino called her over.

"Hinata, are you here for flowers?"

"No, I just wanted to see you. Something sort of happened, I think...and I feel like I need to confide in someone." Ino practically squealed in delight. She asked Hinata to look after the shop and disappeared in a flash. When Ino came back, she brought her mother with her. There was a lot of complains from her mother but eventually she gave in; after Ino promised to make it up to her during valentines days and white day.

Inside Ino's room, both girls sat on the bed with their legs crossed. Hinata's coat and grey scarf hung off a hanger. Their shoes were left behind at the entry way inside a shoe closet. And her arms were currently hugging a pillow. She sank her face deep into the pillow to hide her embarrassment. She had just told Ino the story of the incident that happened with Naruto when Lee couldn't make it to training. Followed by Naruto's evasive behavior during Choji's dinner event. Hinata was now convinced that Naruto wasn't ignorant of her feelings because he no longer commented on the way she blushed.

Silence ensued. But it was more because Ino was trying to put the information together in a way that it made sense. At first, she was upset that Hinata didn't beat the crap out of Naruto. But then, she was happy that Naruto was taking more notice of her friend. But where to go from there? That's probably the question Hinata was trying to ask her.

"Hinata, you're so cute!" She ended up teasing her instead. She pinched and poked her cheek after pulling the pillow away from her face.

"S-Stop! I'm not cute…I'm pathetic."

"Yes, you're both!"

"Eh? Ino you're mean, you didn't have to agree!"

"Yeah, yeah." Ino suddenly let her body fall back, so now she was laying on her bed. "Tell me Hinata, are you really seeking advice? Or did you need me so you can talk and figure things out on your own?"

"Why would you ask that? I value your opinion and I-I was hoping for some suggestions."

"Regardless of what people say about me, I have changed. I've learned to be an active listener. I'm not going to give you advice if that's not what you want."

"I want advice!"

"Hn, too bad, I don't have any! But I will tell you what I think." Hinata listened intently. "You say you Naruto knows about your feelings. And that's based on him not questioning your pathetic behavior." She nodded. "Hinata, what if Naruto simply stopped asking because he's used to it? I mean your weirdness is probably nothing new." Hinata thought about how it was her fault that Ino was calling her pathetic. So she said nothing to correct her friend.

"I-I guess I didn't see it that way." She hated to admit that Ino had a point. "B-But Shikamaru told me not to give up because he had observed Naruto and noticed something. He didn't tell me what, though."

"Whoa, wait, you left that part out! When did you two talk? I don't think I saw Shikamaru go near you. I mean if you count the time which you were unconscious-" Hinata flinched on the word 'unconscious.' She had been very conscious.

"Um, after I woke up, we had this conversation and he told me those things."

"So Shika noticed something about Naruto that made him think you had a chance." Ino sat up and sighed. "That still doesn't explain-oh wait, what if Shika was hinting that Naruto no longer has feelings for Sakura?" Hinata gasped.

"Oh kami, Ino you're right! I'm so silly!"

"Happy to be of service my friend." Ino grinned. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know…it's so hard not to think negative thoughts. I-I saw Naruto today while I was on my way here. He was surrounded b-by a group of girls." Ino dismissed her worries.

"Don't worry about that, those are just your typical fan girls. And I know from experience that guys think fan girls are a nuisance. I bet Naruto feels the same way Sasuke felt back then. Boy, how the table has turned."

"But asking Naruto out on a date will a very difficult thing for me to do..." Ino nodded in understanding.

"I want to think that if Naruto accepts to go on a date with you, then it means he's cool with you having feelings for him. So back him up into a corner! You gotta live on the edge while you're still young!" She performed the familiar signs of the transformation technique. In her place was a confident looking Naruto.

"Hinata! I'm waiting for you!" Naruto extended his hand with a wide perverted smile on his face. This depiction of Naruto made Hinata cringe. Regardless of her views on this weird looking Naruto, Hinata accepted Ino's hand.

"I don't know what you mean by backing him into a corner. But I'll talk to him somehow…"

"Yey!" Hinata was tackled by her friend who was still transformed. "Just let me help you in that department, I'll set it up so you two can meet for sure!"

Ino retrieved back to her space and dispelled the transformation. Hinata wondered for a moment about the nature of their friendship. By now, Ino was definitely someone dear to her. Otherwise she wouldn't have opened up to her about Naruto.

But what did she know about Ino anyways? Hinata knew about the superficial things, but not the layers underneath inside.

She sourly realized that Ino hadn't confide in her much. The time they spent together was mostly Hinata opening up about her feelings and thoughts of Neji's death. Ino really had been an active listener. Other than that, their conversation avoided other heavy topics that were too serious.

"Hey, Ino…what have you been up to aside the flower business?"

"Ah, that's classified."

'So Ino takes on secret missions…' Hinata thought to herself.

"What I can tell you is that I'm counting my last week here at the flower shop. I'm planning to go back to being Sakura's assistant. She approached me and talked to me about this big project she has in mind. You see, she wants to open a clinic but we'll have to start working hard for that to happen."

"T-That's amazing…what kind of clinic?"

"A clinic for children. Although we seem to be moving on, many children are having trouble coping mentally in the aftermath of the war."

"Oh…that's awful. I-I didn't know that…"

"I know, it's sad. And it feels like it's our job to help."

"Is there any way I can help?" Hinata asked. But she figured there wasn't much she could do because her medical skills were lacking.

"Well, you _are_ a Hyuga. There will be a time where donations will be needed. You can try to convince your father that the clinic will become an important asset to the village." Hinata nodded.

"Don't worry, I won't let you down."

"Thanks Hinata." Ino's smile seemed different; soft, gentle and almost motherly. Hinata stared at Ino's hand, conflicted because it was hard for her to initiate physical contact. After overthinking it, she awkwardly reached for her hand.

"That's what friends are for…?" Ino tried not to laugh, but returned the gesture. There was no doubt in her mind that this was Hinata's way of confirming their friendship.

"Of course you dummy!"

The two spent the rest of the afternoon listening to music and playing games. It occurred to Hinata that these activities prevented serious topic from being brought up. Perhaps Ino wasn't intentionally dodging the subject about personal stuff. Perhaps, she had been overthinking the situation.

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Two days later,

Sakura stood before the traditional wooden structure. It was Naruto's most frequented establishment. The Ramen Ichiraku.

The place was conveniently located at an equal distance between the Hokage tower, and the hospital. It was a 10 minute walk to get there. Sakura, happy to be doing a favor for Naruto, participated in the plan of trying to help him find a special someone. Though, he wasn't aware of the plan. Ino had approached her earlier today, and asked for help. They were trying to set up a meeting between Hinata and Naruto. She had hopes that things would work out, because they all deserved equal amount of happiness. Specially her beloved best friend, Naruto.

"Welcome Sakura!" Ayame's cheerful greeting spread to her, and Sakura found herself smiling.

"Hi Ayame. Where's your father?" Her green eyes danced around, as if she was trying to find him.

"He's at the back. So what can I get you today? Oh and is Naruto coming?" There was a knowing look in Ayame's brown eyes, but Sakura thought nothing of it.

"Yeah he is."

Sakura ordered a bowl of ramen for herself, and multiple bowls for Naruto. It was close to evening, soon the sun would set. She slurped the ramen noodles slowly, as she stared at the empty seat next to her. Teuchi and Ayame had always hoped for Naruto and Sakura to end up together. So they were disappointed that their favorite blond customer hasn't shown up to meet her.

'I asked Kakashi if I could borrow Naruto for a bit, so why isn't Naruto here?'

"Sakura!"

"Naruto, you're here! I took the liberty of ordering five bowls for you. But you gotta pay for them yourself." His smile fell.

"Whatever, I don't need your charity." He slid on the empty chair she had been previously staring at. He greeted Ayame and Teuchi. He then turned to Sakura. "So what's up?"

"Heh, I wanted to ask you for an odd request." He nodded slowly. "Can you to meet me at the Hokage monument tomorrow? Around the same time?" Teuchi and Ayame exchanged knowing looks. They had the same thoughts Naruto was having.

"What? But Sakura, even I know that spot is popular for couples to confess to one another. So if you and Sai are trying to prank me, it's not going to work."

Ayame giggled a bit, and this got Sakura's and Naruto's attention. The brown brunette turned around and fetched a cloth and pretended to be busy wiping off the counter, while whistling. Sakura decided to ignore this.

"Sai is not planning to confess to you as a prank. Seriously where do you get these ideas?" Naruto gave her a look. "And I'm not going to confess as a prank either!" She wondered how Naruto even knew about the spot.

"Ah, sorry Sakura. It's just that spot it's not a happy place for me. I had to turn down so many annoying girls, believe it." Her eyes widen. Sakura almost forgot how popular Naruto had gotten.

"Fine. Meet me somewhere else then." She replied, while hiding her distress.

'I can't let Hinata meet him there. Naruto might flat out say no just because of what the place now means to him. Damn it, if I could just think of a place.'

"I do wanna visit the hot spring tomorrow. Hey, I could meet you outside by the bench area. That way I can just head inside afterwards." The hot springs was roughly in the same vicinity of the Hokage tower and the Hokage monument. Sakura assumed that after Hinata hand in her report for tomorrow, she won't have a problem meeting Naruto.

"Haha sure."

'Cha! It works perfectly! I can't wait to prove to Sasuke that Naruto _can_ find someone!' The two had been secretly exchanging letters. In one of the recent letters, Sasuke made a comment of how Naruto isn't mature enough to keep any romantic relationship. The comment had made her smile, because it seemed that Sasuke might have been bothered that she and Naruto had been having dinner together. Something which she had mentioned in a letter to spite him and make him miss her.

"So why exactly do you wanna meet up with me? Is everything okay with, you know who?" He hinted Sasuke.

"I'm okay Naruto, we're okay! But you gotta wait for tomorrow before you find out. Remember, this is very important so don't be late!"

"Okay. Oh! And can I bring Shikamaru?"

Teuchi almost broke a plate in the background, he couldn't get over Naruto's obliviousness of the situation.

'That boy looks so mature, but at the same time he has yet to become an adult.' He thought to himself.

"What? Of course not you idiot! You'll ruin everything if you do!" Naruto was so confused. But regardless, he listened.

The two paid for their meal and said goodnight to the restaurant owner and his daughter.

'Hang in there Sakura! You can do it!' Ayame cheered in her head.

'A cherry blossom is blooming in winter.' Teuchi thought proudly. Unbeknownst to the two, they had misunderstood the situation completely.

 _._

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The next day,

"Oh great, I'm early." Naruto said sarcastically. He took a seat on an empty bench and adjusted his black scarf to protect his chin from the harsh weather. It was really cold, and he was pissed that he was early. But then again, maybe Sakura was going to be late. 'Kakashi sure taught us well.' Even his thoughts expressed sarcasm.

From a distance, he saw Hinata's silhouette approaching as the sun was close to setting. He got up to his feet and ran to meet her. Naruto was excited to see her there and laughed at the coincidence. He soon wrote it off as not a coincidence, because she didn't seem surprised to see him.

"N-Naruto."

"Hi Hinata! Did Sakura ask you to meet her here too?" He wondered who else was going to show up.

"Y-Yeah something like that…" She looked away, feeling ashamed over the situation.

"So she invited you, but I couldn't bring Shikamaru. Where's the logic in that?" The girl was visibly shaking, even though she had a warm looking coat and a long grey scarf. Her cheeks were red. Yet her ears and her nose seemed to be okay. Maybe she was shaking because she was nervous. "Hey, what's wrong? Talk to me."

Naruto grabbed her coat sleeve and pulled her with him. He led her to the bench area. He sat down and patted the empty spot next to him; his way of asking her to join him. But she shook her head as a silent way of declining.

"I'm sorry Naruto! B-But I a-asked Ino to ask Sakura to d-deceive you. Sakura isn't showing up…" She gave him an apologetic bow.

"Why would you do that Hinata? I would have come here to see you. You should know that." She continued to apologize. And he made a lighthearted joke about how she shouldn't have done that if she was going to feel so guilty afterward. But once she got over her feelings of regret, Naruto's word looped like a song inside her head.

'H-He would've come here for me!' That's what she had needed to hear for her confidence to build.

"Hinata-" Naruto felt that the silence had gone on for too long. He said her name, but hadn't really thought about what he was going to say next.

"Naruto!"

"Yes?!"

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to yell like that or interrupt you." She waved her hand around as she spoke. The gestures portrayed how nervous she truly felt.

"It's fine, I forgot what I was gonna say anyways. So go ahead." She nodded and resumed back to her old habit of poking her fingers together since she felt really nervous. Such action reminded him of their younger days. Naruto wondered if something like that really helped her deal with her nerves.

"I-I wanted to talk you about the time I said some things to you during the battle with Pain…" He gulped. "T-Those words I said, I meant them but as more than a friendly way…it's what I wanted to say." She got this far, yet she had difficulty in maintaining clarity. Even Naruto appeared confused.

'Oh no! He's probably going to think I consider him a best friend!'

"Hinata, can you remind me what it is that you said?" He got up and practically towered over her with his height. She surprisingly took a few steps back. "The reason I'm asking is because I suffered a lot of physical injuries on that day."

She froze. It hadn't crossed her mind that perhaps Naruto hit his head and forgot about her confession due to a minor concussion. By now tears were close to escaping her eyes. She felt so embarrassed that she wanted to die. Hinata was ready to tell him that she was kidding; that all this had been an elaborate prank which she helped Sakura pull. Naruto noticed that she was going cold feet on him, and so he took a step forward, while silently hoping that she would repeat the confession.

'Why is he so close…does Naruto want to be close to me?'

"What were those words, Hinata?" He placed a hand on her shoulder, she closed her eyes as she flinched.

"I love you Naruto! I love you more than a friend!" She slowly opened her eyes.

'Oh no...what should I do? My confession was so direct and clear, I can't take it back.' It was Naruto's fault. He had led her on with his actions. He had made it seem like he liked her. And so there had been no hesitation or stutter in her confession. Her voice which was normally a quiet whisper, was louder with no traces of shyness. Wait, what if this was actually not Naruto? What if this was Ino playing an elaborate prank on her? It would explain why she was able to be so bold.

A second or two went by, and the reality of the situation hit her; he really _was_ Naruto. Her feet felt cold, and the effect soon spread through her entire body. She was petrified in place. How had it come to this? She came with the intention of simply asking him out on a date, but ended up confessing instead. Hinata started hyperventilating, and didn't notice Naruto's expression soften as he calmly closed the space between them.

He embraced her, while noticing how short she was in contrast to his tall athletic build. He smiled against her hair and felt her speeding heart.

"Thank you Hinata. I'm really happy that you feel this way." His hand was still on her back, and he felt the sudden shift in her breathing. It was no longer the usual rise and fall. There were times where she would hold her breathe and then release it, only to repeat the motion. It was as though she was trying to control it. It wasn't until he heard her sob against him that he realized that she had been crying.

'Hinata, I'm so selfish. I want you to hang on to those feelings, even though I'm not sure how I feel.' He thought sadly to himself.

She pulled away from his embrace, and wiped her tears away. His conflicting response is what made her cry in the first place. Hearing him say that he was happy that she felt that way wasn't good enough. Naruto's words sounded like a vague rejection; yet at the same time it sounded like he accepted her feelings. She didn't like the elusiveness of it.

Hinata didn't want to go through life wondering where their relationship stood. Or if there was going to even be one.

"T-Then if you're h-happy I feel this way towards you-you should go out with me!" Once those words left her, she understood what Ino meant when she said Hinata should back him into a corner. The shy girl deliberately avoided looking at him in the eye; in the event that his expression rejected her.

'I didn't know Hinata was so aggressive.'

' **That teammate of yours is** **obviously hoping you'll get together with this girl. You have to move forward."**

'I don't feel that way about Sakura anymore. So stop implying stuff.'

' **Then prove it.'**

'I'm not gonna go out with Hinata just to prove it to you. Kurama, what do you gain from this?'

Kurama was aware that if Hinata's life was ever threatened; he would most likely be let out to play. But that was regardless of whether they entered a relationship or not. The demon fox has witnessed firsthand how the awkward girl seem to have a thing for trying to sacrifice her life to save Naruto; his vessel. Again, that happened regardless of them being together. Which brings up a question, why aren't they together? It seemed logical that the two idiots should just be idiots together. But the nine tail fox didn't expressed this.

' **Wouldn't it help ward off the mob that tends to shower you with unwanted attention?'** The nine tails said innocently.

'You mean the fan girls? As if I'll ever go out with Hinata for reasons like that!' He frowned. 'I kind of feel cornered…what should I do?'

Just then, a memory surfaced. While he was in the Six Paths Sage Mode, he felt that Hinata's feelings for him were genuine and infinite. Back then, he didn't linger on her feelings, because they had just lost Neji. He was convinced that Hinata's feelings for him was the real thing.

'That's twice that she tried to save me. And I would have lost her, if it wasn't for Neji's sacrifice. I probably would've never known her true feelings.'

The conversation with Kurama, and his inward musing all happened within a few seconds. Thus, Hinata didn't noticed his hesitation.

"Hinata, let's give it a try." His tone radiated confidence, which surprised her. He looked so sure that it would work out between them, even though his words had implied that it could fail.

"T-Thank you, Naruto." He grinned, and patted her head in an affectionate manner. What made it so, was the look in his eyes. In fact no guy had ever stared at her in such a way. She blushed, as Naruto looked at her as though she was the most precious thing in this world. At least that is how she wanted to interpret it at the time. He made her feel wanted. But she wasn't naïve enough to think Naruto loved her the same way she loved him.

'It's almost unfair…' She thought to herself.

He may not love her today, but she wasn't going to give up. It was evident that the battle for his heart had just started. He was her boyfriend, but so far that was only in title.

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A/N: I'll continue to edit any sort of mistakes as I notice them. Thanks for reading ^_^


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I'm sorry I didn't post a chapter last week because life got in the way. Thank you for following the story. Now I'm certain I'm writing for more than 20 individuals. Writing this chapter made me happy for some reason. Please enjoy!

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 **Chapter 5**

No matter what Kakashi wore, whether it was regular civilian clothes, ANBU uniform, Chūnin uniform or the Hokage garb, he fit right into the look. Because Kakashi had always been strikingly handsome. He had yet to reach the age of 32, but there was an added quality to his dark eyes. He's been through a lot since his birth into the world. He had lived through two wars and an invasion. And now there he was, trying to deal with the stress of being friendly towards other nations.

And it just showed. He didn't appear older, yet at the same time he gave off this atmosphere that he seemed to be much, much older than his physical body. Nowadays, his peers talked about the quality of his presence. It had been there even before he rose to claim, almost against his will, the title of Hokage.

When he entered what they called 'Kakashi Hokage Mode' there was a shift in his presence. Those that witnessed him in command, said there was a seductiveness to his character, there was charisma, there was charm and also power. Everyone, except for Gai, tended to forget that he had once been a child overwhelmed by darkness. A darkness so indefinable that left peers, who had known that side of him, intrigued and devoted. Which was odd, because someone who gave off darkness was normally feared. But he never failed to excited awe in those around him. Thus, if anyone were to go back in time to tell Kakashi's comrades that he will one day be Hokage; they would have laughed. But at the end of the night, they would have accepted the words as a definite possibility.

It was the 7th of January, when Kurenai took a deep breath and readied herself to walk inside the Hokage's office. Kakashi looked up from his work. The aloof expression was a mask that was permanently attached to him. At times like these, Kurenai was happy that the mask was there. Without it, she might not had been strong enough to resist his charm back when they were kids.

"Kurenai. Do come inside."

"Thank you Lord Kakashi."

"My, my. I told you not to call me that. It's embarrassing coming from you."

He stood up to stretch. An amusing sight because it seemed like he had been glue to that chair for far too long. He came from behind his desk and as he got closer, Kurenai was reminded that he was ridiculously tall among their peers. And somehow, his height seemed befitting of his image.

"Please, when have you ever been embarrassed by anything." She watched him grab an empty scroll, before moving back to sit behind his desk.

"I had my moments," She paused in front of his desk to take a seat on the chair adjacent to him. "I take it you're here to request a mission."

"Yes, I have a few appointments for tomorrow, you see." He eyed her, for he knew what her demand was going to be. "I'm sorry to be requesting Shikamaru on such a short notice." He sighed, and idly organized some papers on his desk.

"About that, I'm sure he has complained to you about how much he's needed around here. I can't spare him at the moment." He said without looking up at her. Because if he did, it might start some sort of confrontation that would indefinitely lead to him lending Shikamaru to her. She looked away from him, annoyed. Not that he could see this.

"That's a shame, and what about Hinata?"

"I'll send her a message as soon as possible. When do you need her?"

"Let's see...Twelve p.m to seven p.m should be enough time for me to get things done."

"No problem. I'll send her your way tomorrow before Twelve."

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Hinata was aware that she had an audience as she moved about the kitchen, chopping veggies, boiling water and adding the seasonings.

Her audience was her house maids, Hanabi, and her father. You would think her father had better things to do. However, when he was on his way to his office he became curious as to why his younger daughter, along with the staff members were peeking into the kitchen. Thus, he ended up joining them as well.

Hinata couldn't have made it more obvious that something happened that changed her life. The shy girl hadn't cooked a meal since the war ended. More specifically, since the death of her beloved cousin. She started humming as she lowered the fire on the stove. She turned around and the pairs of eyes on her were gone.

'I wonder why they're staying away from me when I'm this happy.'

Back outside the kitchen, they stood almost in a circle, glancing at each other. Hanabi was the first to speak, as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"So sis is preparing bento boxes and cooking breakfast for us, big deal." She walked away pretending to be nonchalant. But she failed miserably, because she looked eager to find out the cause of her sister's happiness.

"Lord Hiashi, we didn't want to get in the way of her happy frenzy." The three maid bow in an apologetic manner.

"Please don't think that we're slacking off." A second maid chided. Hiashi waved his hands as to gesture them that the apology and the bowing wasn't necessary.

"It's a new day. You may reign over the kitchen another time." He walked away to his personal room inside the house. Once he set foot inside his office, his stomach started grumbling. He missed Hinata's home cooked meals. But Hiashi didn't want to ask her to cook if her soul wasn't going to be into it.

'Perhaps this spring she might go back to her hobby of pressing flowers. I'm sure that Aburame boy misses the food she used to make for his bugs.'

That morning, before meeting up to train with Lee, Hinata stopped by Naruto's apartment and gave him a bento she prepared for him. The two spoke for a few minutes, before he asked her to come in. She denied the invitation because she didn't want to let Lee down by not showing up without any notice. Naruto waved goodbye at Hinata's disappearing form, while hoping that tomorrow they'll spend more time together. Hinata shared similar thoughts, as she considered canceling tomorrow's training to spend more time with her boyfriend during the morning.

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Kurenai's new home was bequeath to her by her late husband, Asuma. Generally, there was nothing wrong with that in it of itself. It was something common to have property handed down to a person by a loved one who had passed away. But in truthfulness, conflicts did exist. However in this case, these conflicts were internal and never voiced. Because it was evident that the diseased Asuma had made a decision when he was alive. They had to honor his wish, even if it made them feel uncomfortable.

Hence, the reason why Ino was hesitant to step foot inside Kurenai's new home. She had a feeling she would be hit by a big wave of nostalgia.

'Just standing here brings back a lot of memories of my father, Shikaku, Choza and Asuma. Drinking together while barking at us about our poor performance.' Ino knew such a state of mind was a start of an unhealthy day. And what followed an unhealthy day was an unhealthy diet. She brushed off the memories before they could consumed her. The notion that Shikamaru must have felt the same way as she did only made her focus on the big picture. It was their sensei's will. In the next moment, Ino palmed her two cheeks with both of her hands. Her face turned red at the assault, but she was left determined.

'This is nothing! I'm gonna walk through the gate and feel stupid for hesitating!' She stepped through the gates just as Konohamaru was leaving the house.

"Hi Konohamaru!"

"Yo, Ino! Just a heads up, Kurenai isn't here." Ino nodded.

"I know, I'm here to visit Hinata."

"Okay, cool. Well see ya." He grinned happily and adjusted his goggles as he walked past her.

Hinata surfaced from within the house and greeted Ino with a smile. Baby Mirai was in her arms, wrapped around in a cozy blanket. The blond ran up to her and peek at Mirai's adorable face. She had her mother's eyes. Yet she somehow resembled Asuma a lot. She giggled.

"Ino, I'm happy that you came. But Kurenai isn't here..."

"I know, I bumped into her at the hospital when I was dropping an application for my transfer. She told me you were babysitting." Ino explained as she stepped inside the house. Her shoes were neatly left behind before she followed Hinata down the long halls.

She trailed behind her as she noticed that the house no longer smelled like it used to. It used to often smell like curry mixed with cigarettes because that's one of the only things Asuma knew how to cook. Instead, the house had a muted smell of baby laundry detergent. She should have expected it wouldn't smell the same way, since it's been over a year and a half since Asuma's departure.

"I'm happy that the weather isn't too cold today." Ino nodded, while not really listening. "Ah, Ino, would you like some tea?" Hinata asked as they reached the living room area. Kurenai loved modern furniture. But for some reason, it appeared that she decided to keep the house looking almost the same the way Asuma left it; he had preferred the older traditional furniture.

"Sure. Here, let me carry Mirai for you." Hinata turned away and held onto Mirai in a protective manner.

"I'm sorry! Y-You know…this is my first time babysitting. S-So would you please wash your hands?" Hinata asked carefully, as to not hurt her friend's feelings. Ino merely rolled her eyes while grinning.

"Okay I get it." She walked off.

'I don't think Shika has anything to worry about. Hinata seems to be doing her job.' She had spoken to Shikamaru earlier, and her best friend told her that he might be dropping by to make sure Hinata does a good job at babysitting; otherwise he won't be able to do his work while he's worried about Asuma's kid.

Ino stepped foot into the kitchen and rushed to the sink and washed her hands. She dried them with a kitchen towel before reappearing into the living room. Once she sat on a floor cushion, she welcomed Mirai into her arms. She rocked her back and forth during Hinata's absence. The scent of the infant reminded her of her status as an only child. She remembered how she used to wish she had a younger sister. But that dream was no longer possible since her father was gone.

Hinata prepared the tea inside the kitchen when it hit her that Ino was probably going to ask her how things had gone with Naruto. She looked down at the two mugs in front of her, a faint hue of red decorated her cheeks. It was hard to wrap her head around the fact that Naruto was her boyfriend. Should she tell Ino? What if things don't work out with Naruto? What if he decided to break up with her tomorrow, or next week? Hinata exhaled, as she returned to the common space. The shy girl had barely stepped foot inside the living room, when she was bombarded with questions related to Naruto.

"Come on Hinata, I'm dying to know!"

Hinata groaned. It was time to get this over with. She decided to keep it short and concise since nothing really happened. She confessed, then Naruto hugged her and patted her head. Afterwards, they went their separate ways.

"I-I corned him just like you said. S-So he's basically my boyfriend now." Ino stared at her, dumbfounded as Hinata set the tea in front of her. She noticed how Hinata didn't seem as happy as she out to be. Which didn't make sense since the girl finally got together with the love of her life. Mirai had been taken from Ino's arms and relocated to the floor mattress. Hinata moved to Ino's side once again, as Mirai's coos were heard in the background.

Her blue eyes shifted to Mirai's adorable form, and that's how she was able to form a smile that looked as natural as breathing. But it didn't stop her from fidgeting with the mug.

"Who would've thought you had it in you." Ino said, more to herself. "I'm happy for you, Hinata." She took sips of the hot chamomile tea, thinking that it needed more honey. Hinata stared at her friend, as she silently sipped her own cup of tea. She questioned if Ino was okay.

'Sakura has Sasuke, Choji sort of found someone, and Hinata is with Naruto. But where does that leaves me? I know pretty soon they won't have time for me. Sure I can get any guy I want. But I don't want romance…It's not what I'm looking for. But now is not the time to be saying all of that.' Ino thought bitterly.

"We both seemed to be out of it today." Hinata looked surprised that Ino had noticed her slight depression. "For me, I guess is this place." She moved her hand, as if to gesture the whole mansion made her feel down. "But I'll get over it. So what's up with you?"

"I-It's Naruto…y-you see we haven't had the chance to chat about plans for our first date…So it's hard for me to feel very secure about our relationship."

"I never had a boyfriend before so I wouldn't know. But I doubt you should worry too much about that. I mean it's only day number two." That's all she had to say in the matter. "By the way, Shika is dropping by to check on Mirai. So make sure you don't fall asleep while keeping a watch, or else he's going to assume you're not a good babysitter."

"That's kind of mean...since I think I've been doing a good job of taking care of her!" Hinata said defensively.

"I know, but he's just a bother about these things."

It wasn't easy for Hinata to accept the situation without panicking on the inside. What if he had his own methods of taking care of Kurenai's child? Her eyes fell on Mirai and she mentally prayed the little girl doesn't cry too much when he's here. She didn't want Shikamaru coming in here and telling her what to do.

"Ino, could you stay while he's here?" The question had surprised the blond, because she had forgotten that Hinata and Shikamaru were just associates.

"Why? No way could it be that you're scared of him?"

"Eh? No!" Ino looked apologetic. She hadn't meant to jump to such conclusion. "But can you please stay?"

"Can't do. I need to see Lord kakashi and talk to him about some private matters." Ino crawled over to Mirai's side and placed a kiss on the baby's forehead. Hinata dejectedly accepted Ino's decision.

"I guess there's no helping it." Hinata made a movement to stand. However, Ino stated that she can let herself out for which Hinata ignored. Instead, she picked up Mirai and followed her friend to the entryway. She waited by Ino's side as she retrieve her shoes before parting with promises of hanging out again.

After her blond friend left, Hinata noticed one of Shino's bug on the wall.

'I guess Shino must be trying to look after Kurenai. I wonder if there's also a bug like this at my house and at Kiba's house.' She walked close to the bug on the wall.

"Hello there little friend," The bug fluttered its wings in response. For it was some form of communication. Her mind filled up with ideas, and what followed was a hasty request which she hadn't thought through. The bug took off to fulfill the request of summoning it's master. She felt silly for asking Shino to come and keep her company.

She went back inside to change Mirai's diaper.

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A few hours had gone by, and Hinata lay on her stomach as she flipped through pages of literature she found on Asuma's library, pertaining to the fire country. Mirai's coos made her giggled and she spoke in a sweet tone every now and then to let Mirai know she was still there.

Eventually, there was a knock on the door, followed by a sound of someone letting themselves inside. Hinata pushed herself off the floor to greet the newcomer. Shino slid the door open, and stood there in his black turtle neck sweater. She assumed he left his jacket hanging on the coat stand.

"Shino!" He raised an eyebrow at her cheerful greeting. She seemed too happy that her message was received.

"What's the situation?" He asked, as though he was ready to get down to business. She should have guessed Shino would take this seriously. She fumbled through her words, as she feared his disappointment when he finds out that the reason for his summon was over something trivial.

"First, go wash your hands before touching Mirai." He paused, as he was about to pick the baby up, and nodded.

"Very well." When he returned, he sat next to Mirai and picked her up. Hinata watched in horror as his bugs landed on Mirai's clothes.

"W-What are you doing?!"

"I don't want her growing up hating all things that are insects. There is a possibility that she might might be paired with one of my clan members." He explained. "If I train her to love insects she will widen her horizons."

"You have to wait until she's older before you do that!" She scooped up the bugs in her hand and relocated them back to it's owner. She was left with a sense of jitters as she shuddered. He ignored her discomfort and went back to stare at Mirai's cute expression. One would think he was unfazed by her adorableness, but inside, he was happy to look at her. Her coos filled the room with warmth, and Hinata knew it wasn't her imagination. Shino seemed happy.

She sighed, as her anger dissipated away.

"Babies are a mystery. To think our enemies looked like this at some point in their life. Do you think it's a sin to imagine that Madara looked like this at some point in his life?"

"Shino, of course it's not a sin. But…it's a sad thought to be reminded of the loss of one's innocence."

"She's grabbing my face, and palming me. Is she trying to learn the gentle fist so soon at this age?" Shino said incredulously, as he pulled Mirai away from his face.

"No, all babies do that." She giggled. "You do look funny holding her."

They both heard the sound of the door sliding open and close. Hinata, who had been laying on the floor, sat up slowly. She looked at Shino as though she had forgotten to tell him there was going to be another visitor.

"My bugs are telling me that Nara's at the door. Is that why you sent a SOS?" Shino knew Hinata more than he let on. So it came to her as a surprise that his guess was spot on.

In fact, she didn't know that he had arrived to that conclusion after recalling Choji's dinner party. It wasn't strange for Hinata and Shikamaru to barely speak to one another. Which is why it made sense to him that his shy teammate didn't want to be alone with the shadow user.

"I know this wasn't the SOS you were expecting...sorry Shino."

"I assumed you were hurt so I came running. I'm glad that wasn't the case."

By then, the door the living room slid open. Shikamaru paused, surprised to see the Shino there. He grinned upon noticing the young man's physique without his jacket. The bug user moved Mirai back to the floor mattress and stood up to greet him.

"Aburame, long time no see. I see you've been lifting."

"I understand that what you're saying is just a figure of speech since I last saw you yesterday-"

"But you didn't say hi." He reminded him.

"Yes, I didn't say hi because you seemed too preoccupied. And before you ask, I didn't do it for the ladies, or for Killer B." Shino walked up to Shikamaru and the two shared a greeting taught to them by Naruto. The bro fist.

The shadow user proceeded to take his place next to Mirai. It didn't escape his notice the way Hinata tensed once he did so. She must have known why he's there. Nevertheless, they shared a friendly smile.

"So what's this about Killer B?" He asked her. It was as though it had been the right thing to say, because pretty soon she seemed relaxed and even amused by whatever memory it was that she had recalled. She tucked her hair behind her left ear and shook her head and smiled.

"I-It's nothing, don't mind Shino." She noticed the empty feeling on her stomach. She had skipped lunch because Mirai wouldn't fall asleep. Hinata had tried and tried but each time she was the one that almost ended up dozing off. But she'll never tell him that of course. "Did you guys eat anything? I'm t-thinking about making something to eat."

They didn't have lunch yet.

"As long as I get to laze around, is fine by me." Shikamaru made himself comfortable by pulling a floor pillow under his head. He redirected his attention to the baby who was busy grabbing and kicking the air.

"I missed lunch due to the SOS you sent. So if it's not much of a bother I would like something to eat. Because if I don't eat then I won't be able to maintain my results." For a second time, Shikamaru was confused. He decided to ask Shino about this SOS later because he was concerned that it had to do with Mirai.

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"Why must babies drool so much?" Shino held the cute infant and resumed to watching Mirai's perplexing expressions. He didn't expect an answer from Shikamaru since his eyes were closed. But moments later, Shikamaru groaned as he stood. He didn't say anything as Shino gave him a look. Instead, he disappeared from the room. Upon his return, he brought a Shogi board with him. Shino moved to the opposite side of the board; facing Shikamaru with Mirai still in his arms.

"Do you play alone often?"

"No. Though it'll be a long time before I find someone who could beat me at this game. Why? Do you wanna join?" His brown eyes lifted up from the board as Shino rejected the offer. He was more curious to know why Shikamaru was playing alone, when he could just simply not play at all. Thus, he voiced the question.

"That's because I'm working on a project." Shikamaru scratched the back of his neck. The concept of sharing something personal with a comrade almost made him feel embarrassed.

"Project?" This peaked Shino's interest.

"Hn, I want to write a book filled with battle tactics. I suppose one of my dreams is to come up with a strategy that will work on many situations regardless of who the enemy is. It sounds unrealistic, but a man can dream."

"Ah, that's admirable." Suddenly, Mirai thrashed about in Shino's arms. "Why is she crying?" Shino was alarmed. His concern had him wishing he could understand a baby's language just like he understands his bugs. What if she was in pain?

"She's hungry. I'll go heat up her food."

Shikamaru stepped outside the living room and was hit in the face by a pleasant aroma of rice. He traced the scent all the way to the kitchen where he found Hinata shaping rice balls in her hands. She turned around and listened to him explain the situation back with Shino. He soon noticed that the electric bottle warmer was set up, with the milk bottle almost ready.

"Oh no, I hope Shino isn't freaking out too much."

"He was definitely freaking out." Shikamaru replied with a smile, as he remembered the stoic Shino losing his cool. She looked away from him and started picturing Shino being out of character. She wished she had been there to witness it. She wrapped the seaweed around the rice ball and placed it over a plate, as he proceeded to wash his hands.

"Let him know that lunch is almost ready." He glanced over and nodded before noticing the delicate size of her hands. If Choji were here, they would've needed pounds of rice balls to satisfy his best friend. The milk was ready and he returned to the common room where he took Mirai from Shino's arm to feed her.

Fifteen minutes later, Hinata emerged inside the living room and saw Mirai sleeping on the floor mattress. The sight made her sigh dejectedly. She almost glared at Shikamaru, because he didn't know what she had gone through trying to get her to go to sleep. And there he was, relaxed, as he played Shogi while Shino watched.

Pretty soon, they gathered around the table after she lowered the big plate of rice balls. Shikamaru watched her hand movements as she pointed at each row of rice ball and explained which rice ball had which fillings inside. He noticed her nails had been recently trimmed. She settled next to Shino and smiled at him, probably out of politeness; since he was sitting across from her.

"Thanks for the food." The traditional words of gratitude were said before they began to eat. When Hinata picked up her second rice ball, the bug user noticed her hands were quite small. He voiced his observation.

"You think so?" Hinata held her hand out in front of her and studied them. "Hmm...female hands are smaller." Shikamaru chewed thoughtfully, as his mind drifted to work. He had unintentionally tuned out the conversation that was happening before him.

"I'm aware. But yours seem quite small in comparison to Kiba's older sister." She stared at her hands once more, but didn't think any of it. She resumed to pick up her third rice ball.

"I did clipped my nails since I didn't want to scratch Mirai by accident. So I think that's what's making my hands appear smaller." Shino mentally rejected her response since her hands probably looked small regardless of that.

He twisted his body to face Hinata as he held his hand up in front of him. Hinata tilted her head in interest.

Shikamaru's attention suddenly went back to the two people in front of him. He watched in confusion as Hinata pressed her palm against Shino's. Hinata gave him a look, one that marked him as their next target. He could only guess that Shino shared the same expression which truly concerned him. The shadow user slowly put down the fourth rice ball he had been eating.

He excused himself to get water before they force him to measure his hands against theirs.

Upon his return, he paused at the scene. Shino had unexpectedly closed his hands, fingers intertwined around Hinata's hands. He ducked away and leaned against the wall, not daring to walk in just yet. He frowned, as he wondered if Shino liked Hinata.

"Hmm, so Kiba lied." Shikamaru heard him say. He imagined that Hinata might have blinked in confusion.

"Lied about what? Tell me, tell me." She asked eagerly.

"He said grabbing someone's hand unexpectedly will make that person's heart speed up."

"Is that all Kiba said to you?" There might have been a silent nod. "Well, he's half right. But you're supposed to do this with a girl that you like, and if her heart flutters, it means maybe she likes you too in a romantic kind of way."

'Troublesome, this isn't good at all. Should I walk in and interrupt them?' Shikamaru thought to himself.

"That would make a lot of sense." Shino's reply made him reevaluate the situation. So he decided to hold off since he wasn't sure if he was misreading the scene.

"Yeah, but be careful, because even if she likes you, depending on her personality, she may also end up punching you, or throwing weapons or even fainting." Shikamaru smiled when she mentioned the fainting part.

"Amazing, it seems like you've matured in the ways of romance. But your guidance isn't necessary since I don't seek such form of love." Shino replied.

Shikamaru let go of the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He felt relief that Shino didn't have feelings for her because her teammate would've been needlessly hurt in the process.

"You cannot plan for love. It will hit you when you least expect it. A weird feeling on your chest, butterfly feelings inside your stomach." Hinata explained.

"When I was stuck in the infinite Tsukuyomi, I felt those feelings. But that's because I discovered and tamed a new breed. An insect so big I was able to mount it and fly across countries." The last thing he heard was Hinata's quiet laughter as to not wake Mirai up.

He decided now would be a good time to walk inside.

"Shikamaru, you're back." He noticed they were no longer holding hands.

Shino stated how Nara had selfishly brought water only for himself. Thus he voted that Shikamaru should go back to the kitchen to bring them something to drink. The vote came to pass, and the shadow user gave in while muttering his known phrases: "What a drag."

Some time passed after lunch and the three found themselves laying around, heads on floor cushions. Shikamaru didn't return to the game because he had planned to leave soon. The sound of Hinata unzipping her coat prompted him to glance over at her. Her belly looked like a hill even through her black shirt. He covered his mouth to conceal his amusement, because this sight reminded him of Choji.

Hinata was unaware of his expression, and had missed it because she had been staring at Mirai's sleeping form to make sure that the baby was still breathing. Shino, however, curiously followed the trajectory of Shikamaru's gaze, which ended on her opened coat. Hinata caught him staring.

"What is it Shino?"

"You ate a lot and it shows. But you don't normally eat this much. Are you finally going through some growth spurt?"

"Y-You think so? You think I'm going to grow taller?" She was excited at the idea of gaining a bit of height, since she hated being the shortest one out of all the girls. And Naruto was really tall, so it would be nice to actually be as tall as Kiba's older sister.

"I don't know about that. I am simply stating my observation since I do know for a fact that you normally don't eat that many portions of rice balls."

'I can't tell him in front of Shikamaru that I was starving because Mirai wouldn't go to sleep...I guess I'm not going through a growth spurt after all.' She thought bitterly.

Shikamaru lazily reached over to grab his bottle of water while thinking about what other things aside her height, might grow. He dismissed previous thoughts due to the perverted nature of them. Such thoughts felt wrong to even entertain for more than a second. He moved on to actively remembering the reason why he came here in the first place. He forgot about the water, and his eyes softened as they landed on Mirai's sleeping form.

"I'll be taking my leave since I know Mirai is in good hands." He said as he sat up.

"I-I'm not happy that you doubted me." Hinata stared at him, forcing him to look away from her accusing glare.

"I made a promise to Asuma sensei to look after her, so I needed to be sure." He then turned to say goodbye to the bug user. But Shino spoke first.

"You know Nara, it would help if you let others read the drafts so you can get feedbacks. A project such as yours needs many other points of views. Kurenai sensei did tell me one time that no man is an island."

'Sounds like Asuma's words. Troublesome.'

"Does it mean that you wanna help?" Shikamaru smirked.

"Yes, I'm offering my assistance." Shino rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses.

"What are you two talking about?" They both turned to her.

"Nara's project to protect the future generation since he's not always going to be alive." Shino replied.

"You make it sound like I'm leaving a holy book for them to follow. Luckily, there will always be another genius born into this world." Shikamaru countered.

'Maybe the next genius will be my small king.'

"Um, suddenly this subject sounds kind of depressing. You guys don't have to remind me we're not always going to be around." Hinata's comment earned a shrug from both of the guys.

When Shino announced that he would be leaving as well, his timely departure made Shikamaru reconsidered that he wasn't there by chance. Hinata never made a motion to move as she remained lazily on the floor. She seemed exhausted.

"We'll let ourselves out." Shino said.

Her smile told them that she was grateful that she didn't have to walk them to the door. Shikamaru gave the two girls one last look before exiting the living room.

'Troublesome, she better not fall asleep.' He remembered something that was said earlier, thus he inquired about it as they collected their shoes.

"If I'm not mistaken, today was her first time babysitting. I believe she wanted more company around." Shino replied.

"Ah." Consequentially, his thoughts drifted to the time he spoke to her on the roof of the Hokage tower; where she had told him she wasn't always quiet around others. He concluded that she was speaking the truth since he had just witnessed how different she was around someone she's close with. It was nothing like the way she was when around Ino. Her conversations weren't forced, and happened naturally.

After today, he reasoned that the silence would no longer be a troublesome thing in the future because he knew her enough to know that when she's silent, it doesn't necessarily mean she's analyzing things. Again, the answer had been simple; she was just shy.

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"I'm off!" Hinata said the next day, to no one in particular. It was mostly out of tradition to say those words as one leaves their home. The weather was great, as it wasn't too cold. She ran down the streets with her jacket opened as her grey scarf floated behind her. Underneath she wore the traditional Hyuga clothes for training. It consisted of a dark shirt and dark pants. At her age, she wore black ninja shoes that had heels.

Her hair in a side ponytail which hung in front of her, nearly reaching waist length. She had trimmed her front hair that morning, and this change in hair style was because she wanted to impress Naruto.

She adjusted her bag which was slipping off her shoulder as she ran to Naruto's apartment. Forgetting to use chakra, she climbed up the stairs until she reached the third floor. Thanks to the training she's been doing, she wasn't out of breath. She finger combed her bangs as an attempt to fix them and took a deep breathe. Her hand flew to ring the door bell, but she stopped when she heard the sound of the door unlocking.

"G-Good morning N-Naruto."

"Good morning Hinata!" Naruto stepped to the side and invited her in just as he did the day before. His grin didn't fade as her face turned red. Hinata debated her choice. She glanced around, hoping not to see any prying neighbors. But as she came to a decision, Naruto gently grabbed her hand and pulled her inside his apartment when he heard a neighbor's apartment door unlocking.

"N-Naruto…I don't think I should be here. I-I just came to give you another bento I made for you."

"Hinata, it's no big deal. I promise I'm well behaved."

'I hope father doesn't find out about this.' She thought to herself.

Hinata took off her shoes inside of the entryway which had a shoe closet. She neatly placed her shoes next to Naruto's and followed him inside. His apartment had a unique scent of ramen mixed with something. She didn't know how to describe it, but the scent matched Naruto's. She loved the way he smelled, and to walk into his apartment which also smelled like him made her marveled over the discovery.

As they walked through the hall, they passed the wash room, changing room and laundry room. Another door down was the toilet space, which was quite small. And finally, they've reached the kitchen. The floor was sparkly clean. Not a single thing seemed out of place. Quite honestly, she was impressed. He had been making coffee. There were two coffee mugs by the coffee machine, and he motion her to take a seat by the dining table as he poured them some coffee.

It was around seven-thirty a.m. when Naruto set the coffee mug in front of her. Hinata was late to her training session with Lee. She kicked herself for not canceling beforehand. She'll have to think of a way to make it up to him later.

"Here, I'll take your bag." She shyly slid the bag off her shoulder and handed it to him while mumbling a 'thanks'. The only thing that divided the living room space and the kitchen space was a counter. So when he went to the living room, Naruto was still in sight. Her heart beat sped up upon his return. He sat next to her, and turned his body to face her.

Her hands rested on her lap, and she purposely avoided his eyes which were focused on hers. But each passing moment her face turned redder. A grin appeared on his lips, as he waited for her to crack.

"P-Please stop staring."

"But it's fun to watch you turn all kinds of red." He got lost in thought thinking how amazing it felt to be the cause of those feelings.

"Naruto…"

"Yes Hinata?" She shifted her body to face him

"Can I hold your hand while we t-talk?" She asked, a bit hesitant, due to fear of rejection.

Naruto was surprised that her hands felt cold. He started rubbing them against his hoping the friction would help warm her up. She insisted that he didn't need to do all of that. But he didn't stop.

This was like a dream, to be here alone with him with no one to interrupt their time. And the feel of his warm skin against her cold skin reminded her that this was real. His knees brushed against hers, and she stopped daydreaming. It wasn't her imagination; he had inched closer to her. She panicked.

"D-Does your place always look this way?"

"Nah, it's normally a mess which I didn't want you seeing, believe it." Naruto freed one of his hand to touch her hair which had been styled in a side pony tail. His fingers slid through the strands, and such minor action made her feel like her heart was caught in her throat.

"T-Thank you for cleaning. I-If you hadn't, I would have probably helped you do it for my sake. I kind of prefer things to be in order."

"I never see you in this hair style. Did you do it for me?" She nodded, her heart still caught in her throat. "It suits you." Their coffee remained untouched.

"T-Thank you." The compliment lifted her to cloud nine, because she could see that Naruto was the type of person to notice small things and appreciate it. She was looking forward to the future with him in it.

"So Hinata, have you ever kissed a guy before?" Her hand felt limp.

"N-No."

She hadn't kiss anyone because she was too tunnel vision in her obsession with Naruto. The thought of kissing anyone beside Naruto didn't exist in her, and for him to ask something like that, it almost made her feel pathetic. She kissed him many times, during her dreams and daydreams alike. Yet she was hesitant to perform the action outside her dreams. It became obvious to her the reason why he was asking. Thus, she ended up trying to change the subject.

She made a mention of how he hadn't touched his coffee.

"Yeah, that's 'cos I thought maybe you wouldn't want your first kiss to taste like coffee." He brushed her bangs, and lifted her chin in one motion. Her hand flew up to his chest with the intention of pushing him away. And very soon she made her wishes vocal.

"W-wait Naruto, I-I think you're moving too fast!" He ignored her words and leaned closer. Her hands, while still on his chest, certainly didn't move to stop him. His face was a slight breath away as she closed her eyes to accept the wonderful fate. However, Naruto had changed of mind as he prioritized her wish to wait.

"Just kidding." She heard him say as she slowly opened her eyes.

'Kidding?! You really were going to k-kiss me!' She thought to herself.

He pressed his forehead against hers and his eyes remained close long enough for her to observe him. She was mesmerized by his luminous skin. It made her wonder if he did any special skin care after he showers.

He was so close, his lips were so close. She screamed in her head, wanting to take back her words. But she didn't have the courage to speak up. Seeing his blue orbs open, from such a close distance, made her dissolve. She pulled away and rested her chin on his shoulder, as she hugged him tight. She had unknowingly expressed her longing for him through a hug. Just then, his heart fluttered because of her. Having never been hugged in such a way, he was slightly confused about his reaction, or why it made him feel that way. His body felt goosebumps forming.

"Hinata?"

'I wish you could understand how much I love you! As if I could ever say that.' Instead, she spoke words that were just as equally embarrassing to Naruto.

"I wish I could overwhelm you with these feelings. I want to drown you in them. Shower you forever." She pulled away to look at him. There was a blush on his face, as a messenger bird persisted on getting their attention.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

When Naruto was sure that the noise wasn't in his head, he looked apologetic and excused himself. There, on one of the windows located in the living room was a raven. He let the raven inside and undid the string around its neck which held a small cylinder-shaped container with a scroll inside.

"I'm sorry, I gotta go read this." He disappeared into his room leaving a very disappointed girl. She got up, coffee mug in hand, to move to the next room. She settled on the sofa and set the drink down in front of her; before leaning back into the piece of furniture.

'I hope everything is okay.' Her face cringed at the bitter taste of coffee. She was more of a tea person, but of course he didn't know her long enough to know that. She stared at the watchful raven, lost in thought, wondering whom it belonged to.

'Did I screw up by spouting romantic things to him?' Five minutes had gone by, when she took a second sip of coffee. The raven was still there, by the window, just watching her.

'What I said must have sounded like nonsense.' She got up to pour the coffee down the sink when he finally returned. She moved back to the sofa as he walked over to the bird that had been patiently waiting. Naruto tied the string around the raven's neck; sending the bird on its way.

Pretty soon, he sank on the sofa and leaned his head on her shoulder. He wasn't sure of what to do, or what to say. Hinata was his girlfriend, yet it didn't entirely feel that way. She had rejected his kiss, and it kind of stung him a bit. Her soft voice brought him out of his musing. And his senses were stimulated by scent of camellia petals and lilies. Probably from a shampoo she used. He found that he liked the scent.

"That raven, does it belong to Sasuke?"

"Yeah. He sends it now and then to update me on his location. And then I relay the message to Kakashi."

"I see."

"Um Hinata, I may have to come in to work this weekend. Then Kakashi is sending me on a business trip to the Sand Village the following week." She was good at expressing a look of understanding, but it took a great deal of effort to hide her disappointment. So when she opened her mouth to speak, she carefully chose words that wouldn't sound too negative.

"Our date can wait, so I don't mind at all, as long as I get to see you like this again. "

"But isn't it a burden to you? You have to wake up extra early to see me."

"It's no burden at all." She decided not to think about how she will have to give up one of her favorite activity, just to see him. And that activity was training with Lee. Lee had a way of lifting her spirits up. And also, being around him made her have an easier time of keeping Neji's memories alive.

But being with Naruto was her first priority.

"About what you said earlier, I'm looking forward to understanding your feelings. But I also want you to understand me as well. So, I wanna to show you something." He stood by the door leading to his room. Hinata soon joined his side. He pushed his bedroom door open to reveal a mess of scrolls scattered just about everywhere. They were on his bed, on the floor, over the nightstand.

"Oh my…"

"This is the work I end up taking home sometimes, so I don't have to deal with it the next day. But then the next day comes, and I still have to deal with it. Hehe…"

"I wish I could help…"

"Most of the information in there, I can't share with you. If you ever see me looking worried, I won't always be able to tell you the details of what's bothering me. That's 'cos I have a lot of secrets I have to keep." Her heart sank. "Hinata, I'm trusting you to understand."

She kicked herself mentally. She must have looked disappointed for him to have said that. It got her thinking that asking Naruto out, was that really a good idea? When he said yes, was that because she had selfishly cornered him? Hinata suddenly felt like a bad person for not taking into account Naruto's hectic life. She bit the inside of her lips.

"W-Why did you accept me? I-It doesn't seem like you have time to…to think about other things."

"I didn't want you to stop having feelings for me." He answered honestly.

"I-I would have waited if you asked." She felt silly for saying that, because back then she hadn't given him that choice at all.

"This amount of work isn't going to get any lighter. If I had asked you to wait, that would've been a waste of your time."

'I love you!' She felt like she had fallen even more in love with him. And most of all, she was thankful that he explained things to her because _knowing_ made her feel a bit more secure about their relationship.

She took in a deep breath and stepped inside his room.

"Naruto."

"Hmm?"

"I'll help you pick these up and seal them inside your scrolls."

"Really?! Thanks Hinata! Oh and can you also help me organize them? Well I sort of organized them already, each of them has a color stamped to them, and each color represent a category. You just have to separate them by color and stuff. Just don't peek inside!"

As they performed the activity together, Hinata would shyly ask him question about himself, which he would answer before redirecting the same question to her. He found out about her obsession with cinnamon buns. Her new hobby was training with Lee. Hinata mentioned that she wanted to work on growing her own garden with Ino's help for the summer, just for the purpose of pressing flowers. As for her dream for the future, she managed to somehow evade that question. In addition, she spoke a lot of Ino, and of Choji. But never of the third person, who was also part of the team.

"Shikamaru is a cool guy once you get to know him. And I'm not saying that just `cos he's one of my best friends along with Sakura, Sasuke and Sai. Wait, what the hell?! All their names starts with with the letter 'S'!"

"Naruto...don't tell me you just realized this?" They both shared a laugh, which died out when he reached out and touched her cheek. She held his hand in place. It was still pressed against her cheek. "U-Um, I might have told Ino about us... I also want to tell the others. I hope you don't mind."

"You don't have to ask me, you can yell it to the whole world if you like, believe it." She looked mortified at the thought. Could it be that Naruto already told everyone? As if reading her thoughts, he assured her that he hadn't done that. "I only told Kakashi and Sakura about us so they would leave me alone. Well, just earlier I sent Sasuke a message. So when he receives it he's gonna know about us."

She wanted to ask him how Sasuke was doing, but she was afraid that Naruto might go off on an endless rant. She had been warned by Sakura to not ask Naruto about Sasuke, or else the subject might never end.

"Thank you for keeping it private Naruto. I don't see the need to rush and tell everyone. After all, we haven't gone on a date yet."

"It's weird how I was having similar thoughts. Must mean we're right for each other or something."

'N-Naruto!' She hugged him again.

Their task was completed. And the two relocated to the living room where Hinata searched for a scroll inside her bag. She removed the seal and a bento box appeared in its place. Naruto was happy to accept her gesture of love, as she spoke about their plans for the week. They had agreed to meet like this for the following two weeks until he leaves on a business trip to the Sand Village.

That morning had definitely been one of her best morning as of late. Spending time like this almost made her feel like she was Naruto's wife.

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Thank you for reading! I will edit grammars, typos and messy sentences as I notice them.


	6. Chapter 6

Edited: May 11, 2016

A/N: To guest reviewers, thank you for the comments! Don't loose hope in me, this is a NaruHina fic regardless of what you read in this chapter! One of you left a comment in every chapter, thanks for that. :)

Overall, I've been toying with the idea of writing some sort of conflict which will lead to some teams to be sent out on a mission. Because I know that hanging, training, and holding hands will get old.

As for my followers, thank you! You're just as encouraging as reviewers!

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 **Chapter 6**

Looking into the abyss that were his dark eyes, Ino could not help but to feel like a young child before him. It had nothing to do with their age difference, or his title of Lord Sixth Hokage. But having witnessed his 'Kakashi Hokage Mode', let's just say that nothing Sakura could say would ever change the way Ino viewed him. She just respected him.

She drew in a short breath when he told her that although she could follow her dreams, she still had a responsibility to the village. The Hidden Leaf Village had lost her father, a very important asset to them. He had been part of the torture and interrogation division. And she was more than qualify to take a part time job, with the hinted goal of eventually replacing him.

Her hands opened and closed as she gripped them. Ino could only listen, and trust him. He was being lenient, allowing her to still be Sakura's apprentice. But through his point of view, that alone wouldn't suffice. Without wording it, he had implied that she had become just as important as her father. And that alone hit home in her.

"So do you understand that you must do both for the time being?" Ino nodded. Then retrieved to the hallway after she had been dismissed from his office.

It was uncharacteristic of her to be lost in thought while in public. And it almost took all her restrain to hold back her tears. She loved children. She love human psychology. She loved healing people, treating people, caring for people. She loved nature, flowers and sunshine. Things were simple and linear at the moment. If she were to envelop too deeply into her _other_ career, what kind of complexity would derive from that?

It was a double-edge sword after all. But what eased her was that it was a time of peace. She truly wanted was to keep her sanity intact. She shudder at the thought of turning into another Anko. She didn't mind there being two Ankos, but the village just needed one.

She immediately turned away from Genma and Raido as they walked together down the hall. Both veteran gave her a side glance before Genma made it his business to say something to her as he placed a folder on top of her head. She pressed a hand against it as to keep it from slipping off, before bringing it down for inspection. She raised an eyebrow at the senbon-chewer.

Having read the kind of mood she was in just a seconds ago, they could only empathize. Which is why Genma explicitly waved her towards Naruto's direction. Asking her to give him those files.

"What's your deal, I'm not your assistant!"

"There's the Ino we all know." He patted her head. Raido pulled his friend by the elbow and dragged him away, muttering something like "we're counting on you Ino."

And so she found herself standing before the office space which Shikamaru and Naruto shared. The door was already opened. She poked her head inside. Naruto was leaning into his chair, shoulder slouched, eyebrows furrowed. He immediately acknowledged her with a bright smile, and told her Shikamaru would be back in a few minutes.

"Actually, Genma said to give you this." She tossed the folder on his desk, as Naruto looked up with a look of exasperation for which made Ino smirk. She decided to wait on Shikamaru to say hi before leaving. The two conversed during Shikamaru's absence. The subject was mainly comments and complaints they shared about their lives as almost-adults. She moved a few scrolls and made space on Shikamaru's desk to sit.

Her eyes darted over a few titles which read 'Shinobi Union, Possible Candidates for the Security Council.' She recognized some names under the list. Including Choji's love interest. Her sly smile alerted Naruto, and he warned her about reading classified information.

"I'm joining the torture and interrogation division." There had been a weird weight lifted off her shoulder. It was nice to share things in a casual way. Because sitting across a person, and telling them that they had something to share, made the news seem more serious than it actually was.

"Hah! You say like it gives you the right to know classified information! But you still won't have clearance and access to everything. Be a good girl for Shikamaru's sake. Or I might ban you from this office, believe it."

Ino threw her head back and laughed. She applauded his professionalism.

"Come on Naruto, you gotta loosen up. You're acting like an old man."

"You think so too?" He sighed. "I'm sure it's Shika's influence."

"Lately I've been hearing that he hasn't been slacking much."

"Guess I must have rubbed some of my energy on him. Though just a little." They both shared a laugh at this comment, and she found she no longer felt worried about the meeting that transpired with Kakashi. Unbeknownst to her, it had been Genma's intention to direct her to Naruto, because the blond had that kind of effect on others. Well, not all the time.

Their best friend whom they had just been talking about, stepped into the office. His brown eyes narrowed as he warned Ino to step away from his desk. She didn't budge of course, until another sound of steps paused next to him. The newcomer was none other than Temari. Her sandy blond hair was in two pigtails. Her teal eyes greeted her with warmth. The two girls weren't particularly close, but their connection to Shikamaru made them feel like they could be friendly towards one another.

"Hi Temari, I hope you had a good trip. I look forward to working with you." Kakashi had drilled into him how to speak in a professional manner. And before he knew it, those words had come out naturally out of him. Temari's eyes gleamed in interest. Naruto had sure matured a bit in those five months after the war.

"It was nothing I can't handle. And I look forward to working with you too."

Ino pushed herself off the desk and joined the fan mistress' side. Unable to help herself, Ino hugged the girl. Temari's eyes darted to Shikamaru for help. He tapped his best friend on the head with a folder he had been holding.

"Ino, Let her go."

"Why? Jealous Shika?"

"Huh? She's clearly not used to your friendly approach, that's why." She complied, only because hugs could only last so long before it becomes awkward.

"Say, let's catch up later when you're free! People say that my flower shop can be somewhat therapeutic."

"I don't really care for flowers. But I am looking forward to going to the hot springs. Wanna come?"

Somewhere along the day, Ino reached out to Tenten and Sakura and invited them along. The two declined apologetically, because they had already made plans. Hinata was the only one that was free. And when evening rolled by, the three met in front of the hot spring establishment with the purpose of going inside together.

The three girls stepped into the open air, white towel wrapped around their frame. They stepped into the hot water and navigated through a crowd of girls that appeared to be older than them until they found a spot against the wooden planks; which separated the sexes. On the other side of the wooden plank wall, male voices could be heard. Not many conversations were going on, thus when they spoke they could hear one another very clearly.

"This feels so good. Do you two come here often?" Temari asked as she leaned against the wooden wall. Hinata smiled and merely shook her head in response.

"It would be too expensive with our salaries." Both blonds engaged in conversation while Hinata remained silent, enjoying the feel of the really hot temperature water. Pretty soon she became drowsy. She closed her eyes and sighed happily, unaware that she was being watched by Temari.

"Hey Hinata, why are you always so quiet?" Her lavender orbs flew opened, and she looked at her in a puzzling manner.

"Is that a bad thing?" Hinata could only ask, because she got the feeling that perhaps Temari had been somewhat offended by her.

Ino rolled her eyes and decided to comment on behalf of her friend.

"Lay off! Hinata is not always this shy." Ino explained. Temari turned back and observed Hinata, who was blushing.

"We were at war recently, and had each other's back. So how the hell is that still an excuse?"

"Hey!" Ino glared as she stood in between the two girls, blocking Hinata from Temari's view.

"It's okay Ino…My friends and comrades, and even some of my family have accepted me. It's kind of refreshing to be reminded every now and then that it's not okay to be like this." Hinata sank lower into the water as she said this.

"Wait hold up, I wasn't saying that. It's just unnerving, like what if you just don't like me." Temari said as she came from behind Ino. Hinata glanced momentarily at the fan mistress. Her eyes then darted to Ino who was waiting in suspense for her response.

"I like you Temari." Hinata said with a smile.

"Hey don't say it with such an expression on your face!"

"Look Hinata, you made her blush! That's rich!"

"She's caught me off guard, that's all."

"So Hinata, what do you like about Temari?" Hinata blinked as she shared similar thoughts Temari was having.

'Ino, why must you be like this?' Unaware that Ino was merely teasing the poor shy girl, Hinata answered the question.

"U-um…I guess her bluntness? At times, it can be hurtful. But other times her words click and you suddenly have an insight of yourself you haven't seen before." Ino burst into laughter as Temari glared at the blond.

"Seriously Hinata, you didn't have to reply. Anyways, me next! What do you like about me?" Ino asked to keep the cheerful and playful mood going.

"I'm going to ignore you two. In fact, I'm gonna act like I don't know you two! The effect of the hot spring will wear off once we leave this place." Temari walked away, but they still followed her.

"Temari, don't be like that." Ino said, in a singsong playful voice. Temari spun around and crossed her arms.

"Fine. Then let's change the subject."

They ended up talking about weapons and armor, much to Ino's dismay since she wanted to ask her about something about Shikamaru. Hinata allowed her mind to wander off to a certain guy that occupied most of her heart, as the subject of weapons and armors got drowned out in the background.

Temari stepped outside the hot spring establishment, and slowly raised her head towards the sky. The two girls behind her mirrored her actions. And to their surprise, there had been snow falling. The pace at which it fell was the perfect reflection of their time of peace. It was one of those nights where staring at moon, in the presence of others, gave rise to a sense of unity. Even if at the end of the day, they'll be going their separate way.

"Thank you for inviting me Ino."

"No problem Hinata." Ino turned to Temari. "By the way, where are you staying at?"

"Recently my job comes with prepaid expenses. So I'm staying at a really nice Inn close to the Hokage tower."

"Ah, so that's like a ten minute walk." Ino turned to Hinata. "Let's walk her." The shy girl gave a slight nod.

"O-Okay."

Ino locked arms with Temari on one side and Hinata on the other. On their way to the Inn, she seemed to be seriously contemplating something about the way her best friend Shikamaru had been acting. So she decided to ask Temari in the event she had noticed anything as well.

"He did refused to walk me around the village." She commented. She turned to Hinata to explain something that didn't need explaining. "That lazy ass normally jumps at the chance to run away from work." She frowned. "I'll try to corner him when I see him and make him spill his guts."

"Hah, good luck. I already tried. He just won't tell me."

"But that's because you're you, Ino."

"What is that supposed to mean? Wait, don't tell me you two are-"

"No!"

"-Dating!"

Temari rolled her eyes, and it wasn't until they got to the inn that she realized she had momentarily forgotten about Hinata's presence. The quiet girl just seem to fade to the background, unnoticed. She would make a decent incognito assassin.

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The next day, Kiba was out and about when suddenly he noticed Hinata's scent near by, and so he tracked her down. Akamaru hadn't been with him on that particular day because his mother insisted on needing Akamaru's help.

She had recently finished a simple mission, and so the two walked side by side, while talking and laughing. Their bonding time got interrupted by a Chūnin rank ninja who blocked their way. He had brown hair and green eyes and wore his ninja headband around his forehead. From the looks of his gentle eyes and innocent appearance, he probably never got to participate in the war. And maybe achieved his rank recently, through a test performed at a controlled environment.

"Lady Hyuga!" He addressed Hinata, with an expression that made him appear as though he was about to faint at any moment.

"Um, yes?" She asked, uncomfortably. Kiba raised an eyebrow, and he could practically smell the young man's fear. But what did he fear?

"Y-You probably don't know me, but I recently moved up in rank. We went to the academy together. My name is Yuki. I-I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me!"

"Oi, punk, are you blind or something? I'm right here too you know. Who the hell do you think you are? You gotta first get my approval before you even think about talking to my Hinata." Kiba spat on the ground.

"Ah...that's right. I apologize Mr. Kiba." Mr. Kiba? He really liked the sound of that.

Meanwhile, Hinata tried clarify that she was in no way in a relationship with her teammate, but Yuki seemed to understand that Kiba was just overprotective. She turned to the shy young man, ready to turn him down.

"Yuki, was it?"

"Yes my lady, I'm Yuki!" His heart skipped a thousand mile, as it had been the first time she had look directly at him.

"I'm sorry about my friend's behavior. However, I am already...seeing someone. I'm sorry Yuki."

"HUH?" Kiba turned to Hinata, who was blushing furiously. The fact that even Mr. Kiba didn't know about her relationship status, meant that his sweet Hinata was probably lying. His heart shattered into pieces. She didn't have to lie to him. She could have just rejected him in a more honest way. That alone would have sufficed. Yuki turned around and ran through the crowd as fast as he could.

"I didn't want you to find out this way. I wanted to tell you and Shino about it properly." Hinata said, while looking at the disappearing blur of the young man who had just confessed to her.

"Who's the shitty little punk you're dating Hinata? How did he forget that he gotta get through Papa first before asking you-"

"No Kiba it's nothing like that! I-I finally asked Naruto out."

"Oh…" He was at a loss for words. And suddenly, it all made sense. The reason why Naruto didn't leave Hinata alone, that night at Choji's party. The blonde's clumsy behavior, and shy expressions had all been a reflection of what was to come. "I still gotta give him, _the talk_."

"The talk? What is, "the talk"?"

"It's a conversation where Papa basically tells the little punk to keep his hands off his baby girl until marriage."

"Kiba, N-Naruto is like the purest person alive…so you don't have to do that. And besides, I-I don't want him to think I have weird friends." Kiba sometimes wonder how she was able to hold Naruto in such high regards. Pure?! Ha! He even invented the harem technique!

"Pssh, we're already weird, baby girl."

"We're not! Which is why-wait don't call me that."

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Having parted from Kiba around four p.m., she walked to the Ichiraku establishment. Hinata knew the place was buzzing with activity at this hour but still hoped to find herself a place to sit down. When arrived, she found Shikamaru sitting by himself while waiting to take his order. She decided to join him with hopes that if she waited long enough, perhaps Naruto will show up. Thus, she entered the ramen restaurant and slid on an empty seat next to Shikamaru.

"Hello," He turned his head and greeted her with a nod. Hinata smiled and ordered the same thing he was having, which was a bowl of chicken ramen. "I didn't know you like to come here." She didn't know what to make of his scoff.

"I don't. I was here a few moments ago with Naruto and Temari." His eyes scanned her profile, her eyebrows furrowed and lips pouted as she shifted from realization to disappointment. His attention then shifted to Teuchi and Ayame. As they moved with such ease and efficiency.

"I see...I hope he's not too stressed out with being an apprentice…" He wondered if she was still digesting the fact that Naruto was going to become Hokage. The implication of that, he only guessed, meant things like this may occur more frequent. It was unavoidable that Naruto would have to spend a lot of time with other _associates_ which he also considered friends.

"He complains and all, but lately I think he's doing fine." He let out a sigh, hoping his food would be ready soon. In the meantime, he spent his time explaining to her that today was one of those days where Naruto practically had to spend the whole day inside the office; since Lord Sixth has been overloading him with political work related to the Shinobi Union. It's was going to be a tedious long process. Which is why Temari was helping him. She's an ambassador.

He didn't know why he felt the need to explain all of that to her. I mean it was all such a drag. His effort left him reaching for a glass of water because that's the most he had ever spoken today without a pause. In fact this had been the longest sentence he had ever spoken to _her_. Looking at her sparkling eyes, she smiled with a fondness she usually displays when thinking of Naruto. He couldn't shake the feeling something had happened between her and Naruto. He didn't dare to assume, just yet, that the two were more than friends. He had a suspicion because Naruto has been bringing lunch every now and then, with the Hyuga logo labeled on the bento box.

Ayame casually served their order before going back to her tending to other customers.

"Thanks for the food." They said as they clasped their hand together in form of a prayer. The two proceeded to tear the wooden chopstick apart to eat.

However, the shadow user couldn't eat nowadays without thinking about Choji - praying that his friend was still half alive where ever he was.

Few knew that Choji wasn't actually on vacation. Those few were Lord Kakashi, Tsunade, Naruto and himself. His friend was actually on a secret mission, as a double-agent of some sort. He didn't know the details per say. It bothered him that Choji hadn't open up to him about the purpose of his sudden need to test his skills, abilities and prowess all on his own. Could it be that Choji wanted to prove his self-worth as an individual? It didn't sound like him like all. What if it was this Karui chick making him do all that stuff? How troublesome.

But if Choji's mission proved to be a success he would surely fly up a rank. Shikamaru stopped musing about his friend, and felt some type of guilt over _knowing_ about this. Ino, Kurenai, and Hinata were totally oblivious to that fact.

"How was your day, Hinata?" The girl paused as though she had just misheard him.

"Oh, um, it was okay. I looked after Mirai again. Well…more like I practically begged sensei to request me for a mission. I love spending time with them. And then…I hung out with Kiba." He nearly smiled upon hearing her response. He wanted to comment something along the line of 'I wish I could ditch work and become Mirai's babysitter for the rest of the year.' But something in her eyes told him she had a question in her mind. "When is Choji coming back?"

"I heard from Lord Kakashi that he's returning tomorrow."

"Lord Kakashi? W-what does that have to do with his vacation?" Baffled at his own carelessness, he didn't respond immediately. "Ah! I see! Lord Kakashi must be eager to have Choji back to his regular shifts." Nice save. Only that he didn't save himself. He chuckled, feeling more relief than amusement. The girl next to him rested her chopsticks horizontally over the bowl of ramen. Her hands rested on her lap and she fidgeted with the material of the coat she wore on that day. Thus he wondered if something was wrong.

Through Hinata's perspective, Shikamaru seemed to be fine. He was being friendly and social with her. Then again she didn't know what a cry for help looked coming from Shikamaru. Would she be able to recognize it if were to happen? Temari and Ino also been worried about him. And Choji wasn't around, so the worry trickled down to her. But should she get involved?

"I know I see you often, yet you always look the same…I can never tell if you're doing okay. S-So I was wondering how you were doing." He felt proud to hear that. His neutral expression made him appeared bored or irritated. He wouldn't call it a mask. He would call it a repellent of trouble. And trouble was, well, troublesome. Choji was already known as the guy that wears his heart on his sleeve. And Shikamaru could see that if he did the same, people would be asking him _everyday_ about his _feelings_.

"Right," His tone hadn't changed when he said this. He kept quiet for some time, mulling over his best friend's trip. He hoped Choji makes it back without the delay. Hinata took his silence for what it had implied. Thus, she apologized for prying and they turned back to their meal and finished it in silence. She felt bad for thinking of him as a jerk, because in the end, he took out his wallet and decided to pay on her behalf. It was a gesture which meant that next time they eat together, it was her turn to cover their bill. Something that was normally done by friends.

She followed him outside the restaurant and stood there, facing him, just as parting words were about to fly out of Shikamaru's mouth. Her fidgeting habit returned, but this time she played with the hem of her coat. He gave her a look and asked her what's on her mind. Taking interest just in case it had anything to do with their goddaughter, Mirai.

"Are you free right now?"

He scratched his head, wondering what brought this about. He scrolled through a few guesses inside the shadowy landscape of his chaotic mind. But perhaps it was simple, maybe Hinata was just being polite. But why would she request his time? He glanced at his watch, and then scanned Hinata's body language.

'Troublesome.' He looked away from her, and stared at the sky before deciding to answer her question.

"I have some free time." He caught the corner of her lips shifting into a small smile.

"When was the last time you went cloud watching?"

"This morning." She looked crestfallen. Did Hinata know how easy she was to read? Probably not. He sighed. "Come with me, there's a place I haven't visited in a while."

"Okay." He was amused at her attempt to do an activity he enjoyed. He could only guess it was because she was trying to achieve something, but what? He was done guessing.

"By the way, why are you doing this?" He hadn't meant for his tone to sound accusing.

'Oh Kami, have I offended him? He's so complicated.'

"Y-You seemed to be bothered by something, and I know that you like watching the clouds."

She had admitted earlier that she couldn't tell if something was bothering him. So for her to say that he seemed troubled by something, he began to wonder why there were inconsistencies in her words. Maybe she knew something about him.

'What a drag. Ino or Kurenai must have blabbed about me so now she's worried. She's probably trying to do something about it.' He stopped walking, shoved his hands inside his pockets and swung his head to look at the girl.

"Suppose your aim is to cheer me up, that could only work if I'm miserable in the first place." There it was again; a downcast look as she soaked in his words.

"I…I see." That's all she said before the breeze picked up, prompting her hand to fly to her ear to prevent her hair from blocking her vision. "I'm sorry Shikamaru!" She was stopped by his words:

"Isn't it troublesome when you take on assumptions based on your own imagination? You're bound to be incorrect, thus making your reality a bit warped."

"I-I don't understand what you're saying."

"Basically, you've got to stop assuming things." He felt the need to look away from her intense, wide-eyed expression. However, he couldn't hide the smile that had surfaced. He felt appreciation over the fact that she was easily reasoned with. When Shikamaru looked back at her, she had been tapping her chin in a pondering manner. He waited until she seemed to have come to some sort of decision.

"Let's be friends." He was thrown off guard by her tone. But now that he thought about it, such tone and behavior was more expected from Lee than from her. As for Hinata, the decision made a lot of sense. Just like Naruto, she had always been slightly oblivious to things. But recently she had made an effort to read into the actions of others.

For example, it hadn't occurred to her to think of Ino as a friend, until Shikamaru had introduced her to his mother. And just now, Shikamaru had paid for her meal, which basically implied that he viewed her as more than just an associate.

How had that even happened? Shikamaru used to always be in the background when she was hanging out with his best friends. He didn't really like to include himself in the conversation, and almost avoided it altogether. She seemed okay with that. It never bothered her. But something had changed. And that was her relationship with Naruto. Thus, she was trying to make an effort to be cordial.

"O-Or maybe not?" She moved her hand around, gesturing the previous idea away. He swallowed hard and noticed very quickly his mouth felt dry. Suddenly it became difficult to be honest with her. The truth was, it seemed unreasonable to him because this extended far beyond what was necessary. There was no reason for her to know him better.

He was fine with just being comrades forever.

"Whatever. Is it because of Ino and Choji?"

"That's part of the reason…" The other part was that Naruto had told her that Shikamaru was one of his best friends.

But he figured it had something to do with her benevolence. He looked at the sky, and wondered what he looked like through her eyes. Whatever it was, it couldn't be worse than a picture of a black cat inside a carton box. That's what Temari said he reminded her of when he looked sad. Though that was back then when he was a novice at hiding feelings.

"If we don't hurry we won't be able to watch the clouds." He said, purposely deflecting the burden of having to respond.

Hinata raced ahead of Shikamaru. In time, the distance between the two was noticed by her. She paused and stared back at him, and suddenly her body jerked at the realization that she didn't know where they were going.

His hand flew up to cover his mouth. He didn't laugh, but she could see the amusement in his eyes. She smiled softly; this was a start. He caught up to her and led the way to his house; the Nara mansion.

"Shikamaru, why here…?" He didn't understand her hesitation and inquired about it. "W-Wouldn't your mother misunderstand…If-you know…"

'I doubt my mother would misunderstand. She knows that you're not my type.' He thought to himself.

"While we're on the subject, I noticed Naruto has been bringing homemade lunch to work. Would you happen to know anything about that?" Shikamaru didn't want to put the energy or effort into figuring things out so he settled on asking. His curiosity derived from the fact that Naruto was keeping things to himself. Which was peculiar since he wasn't known for his secrecy. Either way, he wanted to be equipped with a response about how Hinata already has someone. In the event his mother teases him.

"H-He accepted my feelings..." She managed to squeak out.

"I can't say I'm surprised. I had my suspicions that was the case." He went back addressing her original questions. Telling her what he perceived his mother to believe. "My mom won't misunderstand." He said. "She'll probably just tease me after you leave. I don't understand it myself, it's all such a drag."

"That's kind of endearing." The glazed look in her eyes made her seem like her mind was far away. He wondered if it had anything to do with her imagining him getting flustered over something.

"Don't get your hopes up." It didn't take psychic powers to see that he guessed it right.

"Ah! H-How did you know what I was thinking?"

"Sometimes I can just tell by looking at a person's eyes." Up until then, they had been walking side by side, at a comfortable distance. But his comfort was breached when she stood closer, at arm's length, facing him while her stare bore into his soul. She didn't do anything in particular for his eyes to linger where they did. He immediately put a distance between him while removing his gaze from her bow-shaped lips.

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When you're told to make yourself at home, you know it's just some form of expression. Shikamaru had said that to her and left her by herself inside the living room. Her eyes landed on the tea chest, and what followed was a craving for jasmine tea. She took off her coat and placed it to the side, and left on her grey scarf. The kotatsu was on, and she rooted herself under the blanket and welcomed the familiar warmth. She sighed happily, feeling the same way she felt last time she came over. Only that this time she helped herself to a mandarin from the basket that rested on the table.

A few rooms away, there was yelling. She recognized that it was Shikamaru's mother doing most of the yelling. Her expression fell. She worried that she might have been the cause of a problem. The sounds of footsteps let her know that someone was closing in. The door slid open, and a very annoyed Shikamaru settled under the kotatsu. He sat right across her with an elbow resting on the table.

"Do you always fight with your mother?" She was clearly uncomfortable, not used to bearing witness to what he considered to be a normal exchange between him and his mother.

"We weren't fighting. She just loves to yell. It's annoying as hell."

"I take it things didn't go your way."

"I got clearance, but my mom said to wait until spring or summer before I take you there."

"Um, where again?"

"The Nara forest."

"Shikamaru!" She tried her best to give him a look of disapproval. "It's kind of too cold for that." He shrugged.

"I had a plan." The plan was to make a campfire for heat source, and bring sleeping bags for extra heat. Now that he thought about it; it would have been too much work for him, and probably not even worth it. Without letting on that he was relief that his plan got canceled, he crossed his arms and let out a long sigh for added measure. She seemed to buy his act of disappointment. "Cloud gazing during the winter is a challenge."

"I understand your mother's decision, she wouldn't want us to get sick. But I do hope we could go together," His head snapped towards her direction. "With everyone."

Right. With everyone. He didn't know what he had been thinking in the first place. The door to the living room was left open. Thus, Yoshino heard the conversation as she walked by with a basket of laundry.

"See Shika, someone understands."

"Ugh. Whatever mom." Hinata watched his expression attentively. He wanted to seem like he was annoyed, but in reality he was content. She could tell from the way a smile slipped through. When he caught her staring, his expression was replaced by curiosity. Both their eyes trailed to the mandarin peels she left on the table. She tried not to feel embarrassed. He _did_ tell her to make herself at home. And she had mandarins back at home. So eating them was her way of making feel at home?

Out of politeness, he still asked her if she wanted anything to drink or to snack on aside mandarins.

Though there wasn't much going on in her head, she looked thoughtful. There was a quick slide show of images pertaining to cinnamon rolls scrolling inside her mind before she willed it away. That's how she ended up settling for Jasmine tea because life just wasn't fair. And Shikamaru didn't own a pastry shop.

He left her to her musings as he prepared tea.

Back inside Hinata's head, thoughts of Naruto surfaced with no warming, as a montage of her confession, his response, and their time together since. Her heart started to ache at the thought of him leaving in two days. She sighed inwardly, and felt depressed. But it wasn't his fault though. After all, he had informed her about it a week and a half ago.

Shikamaru made a sudden movement that caught her eye; it seemed like he had burned his hand while making tea. He turned to her and told her that he was fine. She accepted his words and let it go.

Since the plan was canceled, she figured it won't be long before he asks her what she wanted to do instead. Pulling what she knew about him, he preferred to pass time with Go or Shogi. Feeling intimidated about the idea of playing a strategy game against a person that had quite the winning streak, she waved a white flag; a gesture of her giving up.

She wanted to do something where at least she had a fighting chance. Maybe they could spar.

A cup of tea was set before her just as he settled next to her. She was thankful for this, because because when sharing a Kotatsu, sometimes legs tend to brush and tangle with the person sitting across you.

Just as she had guessed, he asked her what she wanted to do instead. Hinata took the first sip of tea before providing an answer. His response was to be expected. A scoff, followed by a comment worded in a way only he would. Still, she had thought it would be fun to spar. She bit the inside of her mouth, and took back her words.

Yoshino had been walking back and forth. Her ears perked up at the mention of sparring. She retrace her footstep until she stood by the living room where her son immediately frowned upon her intrusion.

"Shikamaru, being lazy isn't an excuse to miss out on training. If your father were here he'll agree that brains alone don't win a battle." Shikamaru's disdain was almost tangible. It manifested into killing intent for which made his mother smirk. "Now that you're rattled up, go release those scorching feelings through a friendly spar!"

His mother knew he was angry, annoyed, frustrated and probably tired. On the other hand, she believed it would be a good idea for him to let off some steam. And since Hinata was a Hyuga, Yoshino had faith in her abilities to defend herself.

Hinata turned slowly, and observed the young man on her side. There wasn't much she could read from him. But she was sure it was the mention of his father that got him like that. She lowered her gaze and went back to silently sipping her tea.

'Shikamaru…he's still in pain. I can't imagine what it must have been like, to lose both his father and his sensei.' It was another reminded that everyone was on their own when it comes to their pain.

"L-Let's play Shogi instead." Hinata finally said, after his mother went away.

"No."

"No?"

"Hinata, why do you train religiously, even though it's a time of peace?" She was carefully choosing her words because it was Shikamaru Nara, asking her a question. But she still decided to speak from the heart.

"I don't want to backtrack. If anything were to happen, I want to be able to protect the people I love… In the past, I trained so hard to become my best, and Neji helped me a lot. And then war gave me even more experience, and made me stronger. But Kiba made me aware that those experience means nothing if let myself become weak." He had almost expected her answer to be 'To protect Naruto!'. So he was kind of impressed that she managed to leave out the blond's name, for once. But then again, she said ' to protect the people I love', and Naruto probably fell under that category.

"I have a bad feeling that you're going to show me how much I've backtracked."

Hinata smiled, but said nothing at this. She was going to make sure she doesn't go easy on him. Lee would want her to win, since he had been taking care of her training. And if she were to show Shikamaru what lack of training does to the body, he might be more inclined to train in the future. It's settled, she was going to kick his butt. Of course, she didn't word it like that in her head.

She began braiding her long tresses as she followed him to the training ground located inside the compound. When they arrived at said location, he merely turned to her and watch her hold the part of her hair in which her braid ended.

"So you're just gonna let your hair stay like that and hope it doesn't come undone without an elastic band." He hadn't meant to come off as sarcastic, but it was sometimes hard not to be.

One of the hair accessories Kiba gifted her was inside her coat. But she wasn't wearing her coat. Her eyes moved to his ponytail. As if reading her mind, he rolled his eyes. He made a motion to remove the elastic band holding his ponytail together. However, his mother yelled something as she walked towards them.

"Here sweetie, use mine!" Yoshino pulled off the scrunchie that held her hair in a side pony tail. Her beautiful brown hair flew majestically behind her, earning a sparkle of admiration.

'S-She's so cool.' Hinata accepted the scrunchie with words of gratitude; leaving the shadow user feeling betrayed because she had openly admired his mother.

"You're welcome. I wouldn't want my son blaming his hair for getting in the way." Yoshino smirked and walked away.

Shikamaru threw his head back and wanted to yell in frustration. His mother was so annoying!

'I want to feel bad for him, but at least he still has a mother…' She thought, as she folded her grey scarf and left it on the engawa which was facing the training space.

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Thank you for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Edited: May 22, 2016

Here's an early update. However, I won't be able to post a new chapter for the next two weeks. I'm going to be a bit more busy with other things.

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 **Chapter 7**

They had been at it for nearly two hours. Eyes focused, trying to anticipate the other's move. Cheeks flushed from physical exertion. Lips parted, panting heavily while heart racing. Their fighting forms were nothing alike, a fact that could be attributed to their respective clan.

His mother walked by a few times to observe the spar, all the while hiding her charka presence, just the sake of not distracting her son. Although Yoshino wasn't Hinata's opponent, the scene made her heart skip. Because the shy girl had a natural elegance in the way she moved that made it seem effortless. Yet such feat could only be achieved through years of practice and hard work.

She paid the same amount of attention to Hinata's sparring partner, vaguely wondering if she could even call this person her son. He looked awake, alert, impassive and kind of, dare she say, cool. He did have an aura of irritation which he has been trying to hide though. His speed wasn't all that impressive compared to Hinata's, but he had this ability to predict her move and counter them just as effectively. They would both dash forward, attack, block, only to come apart. Having watched enough, she decided to start dinner because she knew those two will need it. She felt confident her little boy wasn't going to blow off a fume. Hinata was too adorable, there's no way he would snap over losing.

Shikamaru and Hinata had agreed to hand-to-hand combat, where weapons weren't allowed (yet Hinata had playfully broken this rules three times). Twice, he had ended with his back on the ground, teeth gritting while glaring at Hinata who pressed her foot over his throat. And thrice, it had ended with Hinata behind him, holding a kunai against his neck. At this point, the only thought in his head was to defeat her. To him, this spar was no longer an assessment of his skill. That line had been blurred the moment Hinata had started using weapons.

He noticed she seemed to be having fun though. Which frustrated him all the same, since losing wasn't fun. One could just suggest he should just learn from his mistakes, but his mistake had been to let himself get this rusty in the first place. He wasn't doing very well in handling the five losses.

Keeping his face devoid of emotion (as to not let her know how much losing stirred him up) his eyes followed her long braided hair, which would float in any direction as she moved freely and away from his grasp. Upon seeing the next chance open up before him, he appeared behind her in mere seconds; which he wasn't proud of since he used to move at a much faster speed.

What followed was a petty, frowned upon tactic on his part.

Hinata let out a cry of pain as Shikamaru had unexpectedly, with one hand, grabbed a fist full of hair. Her hand quickly went to her holster to grab a weapon. With his free hand, he soon had his own and parried her assault; sending her kunai spinning off at a distance. Hinata's less intelligent and more natural instinct kicked in. She reached behind her and grabbed his wrist with both her hands as an effort to get him to loosen up. This action only made him pull her, though not too harshly, closer to him. But not at a distance where their bodies were touching.

"Just to be clear, if this were an actual battle, I would've won."

What was he on about? Finally, as though having enough, she activated the Byukugan. He knew being this close to her was like a death wish. He let go of her hair and jumped backwards just barely avoiding her strike. He countered by throwing a Kunai her way as a distraction, and using his shadow technique to capture her. He didn't release her until he felt himself gain enough control to do so.

Thinking back, there were a few factors which played a role in his defeats.

One, the rule was that they couldn't use special technique. Two, she had always been faster than him. Three, Lee was her frigging sparring partner. Lastly, number four, he was ashamed to admit this but gender was also one of those factors. Up until the last moment, he kept hesitating, something which she happily took advantage of. Part of his hesitation due to the fact that he had been careful not to actually hurt her. The other part, he had been trying to avoid any accidental brushes from happening.

Thus today, he concluded he hated sparring with a girl. The only exception to that was Ino. Things were different with her. Even if there had been accidental brushes in the past, it was something easy to dismiss. Sure, he would end up getting beat up, but his thoughts never lingered on Ino's body.

Since Hinata wasn't aware of his tendencies to lash out during what was suppose to be a friendly spar, she was at a loss. She turned around to find that he had reverted to his old self; shoulder slouched, weight resting on one side, hand raised behind his head. And somehow, it was easier not to address what had recently transpired since he looked more like his lazy self.

"A-About your speed...I don't know how to say this-" Shikamaru's probably hadn't trained since the war. So he had backtracked noticeably. Or perhaps her training with Lee had yield insane results. She wasn't sure at this point. But she knew for sure that she wanted a rematch against Kiba.

"Annoying. Just shut up."

"Eh?"

"It's not like it's a surprise considering that all I do now is office work."

She really hated confrontation, and was aware that they never made a rule to prevent what he did from happening. Which is why she was hesitant to address his rude behavior. She disputed whether this was actually the person he was hiding deep inside. She hand waved the idea way. Maybe his behavior could simply be due to exhaustion. So she ignored Shikamaru's slip.

He did sighed an apology.

Instantly displaying a genuine smile, she stood there looking like she was in her element; as though what just transpired was an everyday occurrence. If it had been Ino he was dealing with-actually this would've never happened with Ino because he wouldn't been beaten to a pulp. Anyways, Shikamaru couldn't understand how Hinata could be so forgiving about the mean things he had done.

Then again, he had apologized to her.

As an act of repentance, he lazily collected all her scattered weapons as she merely watched. He didn't blame her if she was trying to steer away from him. But still, he stood at arm's length distance, as she put her weapons away. Hinata was close enough to notice the blood on his face which earned her concern. Her hand floated on its own accord to touch the cut on his cheek. But she made a conscious decision to stop before her finger made contact.

"Do you have antiseptics?" Her question prompted him move his hand to inspect himself. Shikamaru felt something wet underneath his fingertips and brought it forward to see that it was blood.

'She's probably used to tending to her teammates, so her hand moved on instinct.' Shikamaru mused. From the corner of his eyes, he saw his mother.

"Yeah." He turned his head and witnessed his mother shaking her head in disappointment for falling so behind in training.

'Shit, mom is definitely gonna yell at me later.' He squinted his eyes, trying to understand the following gestures his mother was making. 'That's right, it's almost time for dinner.' He turned to the girl.

"It seems my mom wants you to stay for dinner." He ended the sentence with a yawn. "One thing she likes is getting compliments on her food from strangers. You better make sure you give her one."

Although the offer was quite tempting, she still didn't know how to feel about the way things had ended, with him being violent, yanking her braid and calling her annoying, and telling her to shut up. On top of that, as if to rub salt on her wound, he had called her a stranger. He didn't have to reiterate what she already knew.

"I-I hope I'm not intruding."

"I would probably be very vocal about it, if you were."

'I'm sure you would.' She thought to herself before her mind wandered far. He could tell by the glaze look in her eyes.

"What is it?" He asked. This time, it wasn't because he thought it might have anything to do with Mirai. The two made their way to the veranda and sat on the wooden flooring, feet still touching the ground, while facing the training ground.

"I-I used to find myself in several hostage situation, back when I was a genin. I also remember how my team would always have to save me…I was pathetic. But um, quite often, the way an enemy would capture me would be in the same manner I did to you. An arm would come around my neck, and pretty soon I realized that there was a weapon pressed against my skin. Do you think there's a way to break free from that without dying?"

He thought about it.

"The chance of success is quite low if their intention is to kill you. On the other hand, if they need you as a hostage, you could probably do it. You probably won't come out of it unscathed."

"I see. I'm such a hopeless case, I mean I haven't even learned it yet, considering the amount of time I was a hostage." Right away, Shikamaru knew where this was going. After all, he had provided her an answer, and now it sounded like she was throwing hints at him to help her practice. It was so typical of girls.

"I doubt you'll be alive today if you had tried to free yourself. It's something you have to practice in a controlled environment. You have your eyes and gentle fist to your advantage."

"Would you help me practice?"

"I'll pass." He dragged out the syllables on those two words; making it sound like 'owllll passss'. "And before you even ask why," His hand fidgeted around with his ear stud. "Think about it for a bit, and you'll know."

"Is it because you're lazy?" He almost cringed at her quick response and gave her a look.

"I'm not flattered that's the first thing that comes to your mind." He looked at her as though he was telling her to think harder. So she did. Memories of her abductions during her genin surfaced. A male missing Nin. His body pressed against hers, with a knife to her neck. She flinched at the memory. She had innocently made a request without thinking it through. At least she understood what Shikamaru was saying.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't think that you would look at it that way."

He looked away from her owlish lavender eyes. Why was he getting flustered over something so frivolous? Not that Hinata could tell since he had his 'I'm bored and not impressed by your accusation' kind of look. But to Hinata, it read more like 'He's lazy, bored and exhausted'.

But his eyes did soften up a bit. And while thinking they seemed to get along fine (assuming Hinata had forgiven him about the braid thing) he thought they were at a stage where he could tease her.

Ino teased her all the time. And so did Choji.

"Troublesome. Don't you get I'm still a guy? While I'm not too eager to have you pressed against me, my body will most likely-"

She slapped her hand on his mouth just in time to prevent him from finishing whatever thought he had. Her lips pursed together, before opening and closing them again. It was as though she was trying to select a response.

"S-Shikamaru, I don't understand how you can be nonchalant about the things say." He peeled her hands off his face in time to yawn. At this point he just wanted to go back inside the house to eat, shower and sleep. But he had a feeling it wouldn't happen in that order.

"Maybe the problem here is that you're too easily embarrassed. You should really work on that, you know. It makes you an easy target." Her eyes were thoughtful, while looking at the hand which held hers. Her finger twitched, prompting his brown eyes to traveled to their joined hand.

In the end, he reacted the same way he did when he had burned his finger, while making tea. She raised an eyebrow, as to ask 'who's embarrassed now?'. He almost told her to just shut it. Suddenly just like that, she was becoming just as troublesome as Ino.

"Could it be that you were once an easy target?" Her words were soft, yet mildly effective, since it made him tense up all of a sudden and cringe at the memories of Ino teasing him about Temari years ago. "But you hide it so well that it's hard to even tell." He scoffed as if offended.

"I'm not an amateur anymore." He pushed himself off the floor.

Seconds later, Hinata's hand flew to her hair after feeling a gentle tug. Her head snapped to his direction as he walked away. She didn't know what to think anymore. Shikamaru was just all over the place. She traced the end of her braid and notice it was quickly coming undone. It appeared the shadow user had removed his mother's scrunchie from her ends.

She shook away a smile and eventually caught up to him. She followed closely behind, as they entered the dining room together. Once inside, they split apart. He went off to take care of the cuts before they get infected. As Hinata proceeded to help his mother set the table.

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After dinner, Hinata excused herself as it was time to go home. The two Naras followed her to the entryway where Hinata collected her shoes. She tucked her messy hair behind her ear and bend down to put her shoes on.

"Hinata, make sure to come back to train with my son again." Shikamaru faced his mother and waved his hand to reject the idea.

"Ah, that won't be necessary. I'll just borrow one of Naruto's shadow clone every now and then. I'll also train with Choji. It would be a better use of everyone's time." There's definitely no way he wanted to train with the member of the opposite sex. It's such a drag, or so he thought.

"Good night, thank you for the hospitality." Hinata turned around and smiled.

"It's no problem at all sweetie, take care."

"Later Hinata." Yoshino glared at his son who was now taller than her. She slapped the back of his shoulder and pushed him forward.

"That pitiful molester is still out on the streets, Shika." Who was his mother fooling? Didn't she just witnessed Hinata's skills? Ugh, whatever. He was too tired to try to understand. Without uttering a word of contraction, he merely complied with his mother's request.

While leaving the mansion, he doesn't say anything about how him walking her home, this time, seemed like a cliche. Because she'll probably won't get it. Having been too caught up in his inner monologues, he didn't notice her lagging behind.

"Shikamaru, why did you pull my hair earlier?" She asked.

Why, indeed.

Maybe because his mind becomes vulnerable when he's hurting from all the shit that reminds him of his dad or Asuma sensei. And if you add losing to the equation, it could be really frustrating. Because the reason he lost was due to his body not being able to keep up with the strategies he had in mind.

"Look, I've already apologized."

"I'm n-not talking about the first time." She said.

Oh right, he had forgotten about the second time. But it was such a drag to explain how he kept censoring himself around her. At the time, he had really wanted to call her an idiot for inferring that he was anything like her. There was nothing wrong with her per say, but that wasn't the point. So his inability to call her an idiot made him have to resort to childish antics such as pulling her hair. As if he'll ever explain all of that.

Without using an ounce of his brain power to respond, he relied on his catch phrase to get him through her question.

"`Cos you're troublesome."

"W-what, how so?" She wasn't particularly upset or anything, just curious, because she had seen him ruffle Ino's hair while teasing her. Maybe it had been the same with her? Were they now friends or something?

Too lazy to withhold information from her, he told her a reader's digest version of the truth.

"You don't exactly make it easy for some people to speak their mind." Despite his laid-back attitude, and lazy tone, he took a peek at her expression for any reaction. It didn't seem like she thought any of it. He was relieved about that for some reason.

"Even after you said conforming to others is way more troublesome, it's what you end up doing."

He scoffed with all the energy he had left in him. And was now officially drained and incapable of making any other sort of expression aside his bored look of irritation.

"You're missing the point here. Besides, nobody follows their own advice."

"I guess I am missing the point." She looked at him expectantly, but it appeared that he wasn't going to enlighten her. The cogwheels inside her mind twisted and turned and she arrived at her own conclusion.

Somehow, her thoughts ended back to her boyfriend. She was aware that Naruto yells at his friends, has a foul language and bad temperament. And also, violent tendencies. Yet Naruto was completely different around Hinata.

'No way…What if Naruto isn't being himself around me?' Having been outside long enough to cause her body to feel a slight chill, Hinata felt the metal piece on her neck turned colder. Her hand moved to where her ninja headband rested. She noticed her grey scarf was missing.

She was going to mention her forgotten scarf, which was no doubt still at his place, but her musings were interrupted by her most favorite person.

"Hey Shikamaru, hi Hinata!" Shikamaru turned around and saw Naruto and Temari walking their way. He greeted the two with a nod.

"N-Naruto!" Hinata missed him so much. She ran up to her boyfriend and hugged him. Naruto lifted Hinata by the waist, as she held on to his shoulders. He spun her around in the air as though she was light as a feather. You can imagine Shikamaru was not surprise at all. Hinata did say Naruto had accepted her feelings. But he didn't think the two would be flaunting it in public any time soon. He was wrong.

Temari had a much more negative reaction.

Personally, she thought the development was too fast. After all, Naruto had only had eyes for Sakura in the past. In the small amount of time she had spent with the shy girl, she came to care for her happiness. She felt bad that Hinata was some sort of rebound. The scene made Temari almost get diabetes, so she decided to look away.

Her younger brother was a busy man. No matter how wise he was, he was also just as forgetful. In fact, Gaara had no time to think about romance. And the one love interest that he had, didn't work out. She compared Naruto's hectic life, to that of her younger brother. And so she came to a conclusion:

She gave the new couple two months before they break up.

'Well choji, looks like your wish came true.' Shikamaru thought to himself as Naruto lowered his girlfriend, her feet slowly touching the ground.

"What are you two doing around these parts of town?" Shikamaru asked suspiciously as if already knowing the answer, but didn't want to accept it.

Temari tossed a look over her shoulder and asked a similar question regarding Hinata.

"We were sparring." Was his response.

"Liar, you never spar." There was amusement in Temari's eyes as she heard Shikamaru clicked his tongue.

"Forced into."

"Geez, and here I thought I rubbed some energy on you. We were headed your place to talk to you about super sensitive work stuff!" Naruto replied.

"Tch, can't that wait 'til tomorrow." He whined. Shikamaru felt his pocket for a cigarette, and placed it in his mouth. He searched for the lighter with his free hands.

Having witnessed this, Temari immediately walked towards him as he retracted his steps. He knew full well what was coming next. The fan mistress was quick to pull the cigar away from his mouth and placed it inside her own. He held his hands up in defense, in case she decided to follow up with some kind of assault.

'W-What is this? I-Indirect kiss?' Hinata asked herself.

Naruto turned to his girlfriend, as she was the only one who reacted.

"Hinata, what are you gaping for?" He grinned. "Don't worry Temari is not a smoker. She just does that to him as a warning." Shikamaru was silently asking for his help, but was ignored. "And what kind of day did you have that you suddenly need that?"

Hinata winced at the display of violence. Naruto had whacked Shikamaru on the head.

"What the fuck Naruto?! That hurt you idiot!"

He was so damn tired. God, he just wanted to sleep. Shikamaru leaned his head on Temari's shoulder, mumbling a request. The girl from the Sand Village turned her head slightly, to look at him as he spoke. He wanted her to set up a tent for him right there and then. She rolled her eyes and laughed a bit before patting his head. Moments like these Shikamaru could understand the reason why people thought he was dating her. Then again, he had stopped denying the rumors because it was useless.

"The trip got pushed a day early." She said, her voice slightly lower than normal because Shikamaru's head was still leaning on her shoulder. "So we need to talk to you before then."

"Hn." The shadow user glanced at Hinata, involuntarily.

The hands on her sides turned into fists as she stared back at him. After watching the exchange between the Naruto and Shikamaru, she became convinced that Naruto wasn't being himself around her. The yelling, the violence, the foul language. To her, that is what it looked like to be close to Naruto.

Temari, having found out that Naruto was dating Hinata (even if she believed that it won't last) decided to give the two more time to be together.

"Now that I think about it, Naruto doesn't really need to be here since I know how to explain the issues that we're having with the treaties." She said.

"You're so awesome! Just don't tell Kakashi by the way!" He turned around and grabbed Hinata's hand. "Let's get you home Hinata!"

The shadow user tried not to voice his disapproval about Temari's idea. It all starts with her giving Naruto a free pass out of this meeting, but then from there, where would it stop? Though the least Naruto could do was leave a shadow clone behind.

"Hey Naruto, wait!" He was completely ignored. He wasn't sure if it had been his imagination. But he could have sworn Naruto had whispered to Hinata to run.

"Let's go Shikamaru." She pulled him away by the sleeve, as his eyes lingered on Hinata's form. There was an outline around her neck flashing and hinting there was missing. Eventually that outline took shape of a grey piece of cloth, and it finally clicked on him what she forgot.

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It was seven a.m in the morning, when Shikamaru woke up. He sat up, his dark hair cascading past his shoulders, and released a long yawn. His shoulders were slouched, as he rubbed his eyes before staring at the clock. He stared at the clock and wondered what was the point of even setting the alarm when he always woke up before it rang. He untangle himself out of the blankets and swung his legs out of bed. Another long yawn was released, he reached for the alarm clock and switched it off before it even had a chance to ring. This was what his mornings were like, every single day.

Except that today, on his dresser, was a grey scarf neatly folded no doubt by his mother. He had noticed it there as he smoked last night, with the sliding door that led to the veranda, slightly opened to help with air ventilation.

Perhaps he should had done that differently, he thought, as he walked up to the grey piece of knitted material to smell it. The damn thing was very scent absorbing. He hoped to get the stench out by just washing it once. He fully doubted that though.

He fell back to bed, hair fanning like a crown around his head. He glanced over to the scarf which he still held in hand. He believed she had mentioned before this had been a birthday gift. But why the hell didn't he remember that before he started filling up his room with smoke?

He absentmindedly brought it to his face, trying to pick up on any residual scent of what it might have originally smelled like. Instead, he sneezed. It didn't help the material felt feathery soft, no wonder girls were into that stuff. His heart nearly leaped out, as his mother knocked once and spoke on the other side of the door.

"Shika, I gotta head out early, so I wrapped your breakfast in plastic."

He sat up and opened the door. He pushed the scarf into her hands, muttering something about laundry. A strong tobacco odor just radiated off the piece of cloth.

"Damn it, how many times do I have to tell you, no smoking around my house! And what, did you wear her scarf while smoking?"

"I didn't leave the room to smoke, so I guess it soaked up all the smell like a sponge." He watched his mother grip the scarf as though she was hoping to squeeze the life out of him.

"Why must my son be so irresponsible? You know what, you deal with this, she's your cute Hyugan friend after all." Were her complains as she shoved the scarf back in his hand and walked away.

He never understood why his mother was so bent on teasing him, when she knew Hinata was just not his type. Sure she was sweet and quiet. Also polite and proper. Maybe too kind and forgiving. And could defeat him in a spar, at least for now. But that's where the admiration stopped. Because if he delved any further into his mind, he would quickly be repelled by the perseverance she had for Naruto. Sure, in the end it worked out of her. But what if it hadn't?

His fingers twitched, and his thoughts gave rise to a coldness at the palm of his hands. His body went rigid as a very unpleasant feeling rose to his chest.

What will happen to her if it doesn't work out? Naruto would probably be fine. He still has his dreams and all of that. But what about her? Naruto is practically her world.

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She sat in the middle of Naruto's bed. Her eyes darted back and forth, following him everywhere he go. He was packing for his business trip to the Hidden Sand Village. There was excitement in his electric blue eyes. She knew he hadn't seen Gaara, who was like a second brother to him, in a long time. Hinata had been informed two weeks in advance, that this day was to come. She missed him already and he wasn't even gone. Her hands were starting to shake, as her heart beat raced faster.

Separation anxiety, she mused.

And it just wasn't fair. Because Naruto kept disgorging strong feelings of enthusiasm. He pondered out loud about the things he shouldn't forget to pack. He paced back and forth between the bag which rested on the bed, and his drawer which held essential items for travel. In his recent back and forth, he paused to peck Hinata on the cheek.

She blushed.

"You know I'm only going to be gone for a week." He paused by the drawer, and his eyes focused on the piggy bank shaped like a green frog. Naruto grinned as he picked it up and turned to Hinata. "Every time you sigh, you gotta put a hundred zenny in here." He said with a grin.

"W-What?! But I can't help it..." He remembered the time, about four days ago, when she was too shy to step foot inside his room. Currently, his bedroom was the place where they would hang out and cuddle before going to work.

At first, Hinata had been impressed with his supernatural patience, and self control. But now, she started to wonder if Naruto even wanted to do intimate stuff with her.

She sighed.

"Ah! You sighed again!" He walked forward while shaking the green frog. The sound of the coins made her feel kind of annoyed at her own failure for being unable to keep it together. Yet, she pouted, and reached inside her coat and pulled out her wallet.

"This is extortion...isn't it?" Hinata said.

"No, just reconditioning." He replied. "I like it better when you smile." So he doesn't like negativity. She slipped a hundred zenny into the froggy bank. And absentmindedly thought about how Naruto has never told her that he likes her. He has only told her things he likes about her. She frowned, and grabbed the froggy bank from him because she was almost ready to sigh again.

"Naruto...there's something I want to ask you."

"And what's that?"

"Do you,"

'even like me?' She paused. Such question wasn't worth asking at the time.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think, that you're being yourself around me?"

"Where is this coming from, Hinata?"

"You're different around others. And it got me thinking that perhaps you're putting up a front with me."

"Huh? How do I act around others?"

"Well you know…different." She sighed before proceeding to insert a hundred zenny inside the coin bank which was already in her hands. "There was a time where you called my best friend Kiba a certain word I dare not repeat. Another time, you asked Sakura why she had-um a certain attitude. And the time where you told Lord Kakashi to go die. Not to mention when you told Sai that his thing must be really small. And yo-you're kind of violent?"

"You got it wrong Hinata! You see, you never gave me a reason to be mean to you or treat you that way. In fact, I think when I'm with you, I'm being my true self, believe it." Silence settled between the two. But the silence was broken by the soft sound of a sigh, coming from her boyfriend's mouth.

"A hundred zenny please..." She shook the coin bank in front of his face as he glared at her sweet innocent face. He deposited five hundred zenny because he didn't have any change.

But then a thought occurred to him, and the goofy prankster side of him came up with a silly idea. He gulped, as he gave her a nervous side glance before looking away embarrassed. He wondered what an upset Hinata looks like. Then again, he had no idea how to go about it. They haven't even kissed yet, or gone on a date. Perhaps it was too early in this stage to be playing around like that.

"I just remembered that today Choji will be returning, isn't that great, Na-"

"Shut up." He grabbed her forcefully, by the collar, and pushed her back on his bed. He then climbed on top of her as she kept asking herself:

"Eh?" Heat pulsed through her face, as he captured her wrist about her head, almost possessively.

"You keep going on and on about shit that don't matter! It's annoying! Maybe I should shut you up myself!" He almost couldn't maintain his menacing cold stare as she looked up at him incredulously. She could see him faltering in his little act, but it still made her heart beat faster than it had even done before. Hinata, just like him, couldn't keep a straight face.

He gulped and loosened the hard grip around her wrist because,

She was smiling!

He awkwardly pushed himself off of her, not oblivious to the fact that she might have enjoyed it a little too much. She was trying to compose herself, but only four words fit inside her head.

'I love you Naruto!'

"You're so weird. I was trying to scare you or make you angry, y'know." A bashful smile spread across her lips, and she held in her sigh, because she didn't want to run out of money. How could she be scared or get mad? After all, he said she had never given him a reason to treat her like that. Therefore she knew that he was teasing her.

'Naruto thinks I'm weird…this isn't good.'

"I'm sorry." She looked at him dejectedly.

"Even though you're weird, I don't dislike any of that. Believe it!" He had spent last week uttering statements similar to that; telling her the things he likes or didn't dislike about her. Maybe all those loose threads will one day connect into a web. She was patiently awaiting that day to come.

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The rest of the morning passed in a blur. She was outside, during the early hour of the afternoon, sitting on a bench eating lunch, when a C rank mission was dropped on the empty space right next to her. She lifted her chin from her bento and greeted Genma. She heard his instruction loud and clear. After the completion of the mission, she was required to turn in a report within the hour. And in addition, she was to meet with the Lord Sixth Hokage over a matter related to her rank.

She was still a Chunin.

Hinata skirted to the Hokage tower and entered Lord Sixth's office from a window. As she pushed her way forward she saw a familiar young man in the iconic Akichimi armor. He was big and muscular, and had a strange resemblance to Choji.

"Hi Hinata, you look like a princess as always." Wait, why did his voice sound like Choji's?

"C-Choji?! What happened to you?!" Lord Kakashi gave a nod to Choji, as to allow him to share some information about his absence.

"I wasn't actually on vacation. I was on a mission to earn my title as Jounin. I did go to the Hidden Cloud Village. Sorry I had to lied to you guys." Was the mission so hard that he had to take the three coloured pill? She voiced this.

"Yah, It was super hard. Apparently we were foolish to think that just because our village is experiencing a time of peace-" Kakashi cleared his throat. And gave Choji a look that said 'Don't tell her.' He glanced at Lord Kakashi. "Anyways, I wasn't entirely alone." He said with a somber expression on his face.

"I made sure he had backup from the shadows in case the mission went south." Kakashi added.

"I'm glad you made it back safe. Welcome home, Choji." She tried to resist the urge to hug him. There was something about Choji that made him just that; huggable.

"Thanks Hinata." Choji approached the window to leave as he shifted his gaze to address his shy friend. "Maybe we can hang out tomorrow with the gang. I bought souvenirs." She laughed. He really made it sound like he had been on vacation.

The easygoing feeling she felt got extinguished after Choji's disappearance. She hoped bumping into Choji, who had just gotten back from a secret mission, wasn't an omen to something. Regardless of her feeling of anxiety, Hinata turned to face the Hokage. Her body jerked up, suddenly remembering the written report that was due. She presented it to him and left it on his desk.

"Well done Hinata." Kakashi said after having finished skimming through the mission report. He set it aside and gathered his hand in front of him, resting on top of his desk. "It's time to talk about your future." Her right hand moved to her left arm as she held her elbow.

"M-My future?"

"Yes. Career advancement. I've been pulling each of you here to talk about it. As you already saw, Choji made his own choice. So Hinata, are you interested in becoming a Jounin along with the rest of your friends?"

"Yes!" She said without as much of a pause. She wanted, no, she needed to keep up with everyone. Especially if her end goal is to stay by Naruto's side, forever.

"Good. Just so that you're aware, I already spoke with your father. But the choice still remains yours. If you haven't changed your mind by next week, then I'll be sending you on a mission."

"T-Thank you!"

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It was 16th of January, a little over twenty-four hours had passed since she last saw Naruto. Hinata was previously invited by Choji to have lunch, so she found herself standing in front of the Akimichi mansion. Choji's father greeted her at the door and pointed her towards the dining room, which she already known the location of it, having been there before. The place smelled like rice, soup and meat patties. It was a signal that food was almost ready. Her stomach grumbled, and mouth watered at the image. She entered the dining room and Ino was already there, helping Choji set up the table.

"Hello."

"Hinata!" Choji waved.

"Good, you're right on time. Wouldn't wanna deal with Choji trying to devour everything." The blond hugged her briefly before going back to helping Choji set the table.

"He's sure energetic and excited today." Hinata commented.

"Of course, I passed the Jounin test, I came home safely, I'm gonna eat with my friends, and today is saturday! That means tomorrow we're also officially free!" Choji suddenly looked around, realizing his best friend had been missing for some time. "Wait, where's Shika?"

"I saw the lazy bastard slip outside a few moments ago to avoid helping us set the table." Ino replied.

"Maybe he won't mind it too much if we get started without him-"

"Just don't." Ino cut Choji off, before turning to Hinata. "Could you bring him back here? Food's almost done."

Hinata nodded as she took on the task. He was found laying on the wooden flooring, outside on the porch, just staring at the sky. There wasn't a single cloud today. She knelt beside him and mumbled a greeting and then proceeded to pass on the message about how food was almost ready. His brown eyes momentarily peeled away from the sky, just to look at her.

"You knew about Choji's mission...didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"Ino, Temari and Kurenai were all so worried about you." She said. "B-But I guess it makes sense, the reason why you were feeling down." She was hugging her knees at this point.

"Ughhh, stop talking. Your body language is already saying enough." He said, slowly rising from his position.

"Shikamaru…?"

"I don't know what is it with girls, always screaming negativity when you're feeling down. Always seeking comfort." He slowly rose to his feet and stretched.

"W-what? I wasn't..."

"C'mon, Naruto's not always gonna be around. So you might as well get used to that." He extended his hand, which she accepted with little hesitation. He pulled her up to her feat with ease before letting go. "Besides, didn't you see Choji? He's really happy and I'm sure we both wanna keep it that way."

'Both? Could it be that he's still feeling sad about something?'

Looking at his annoyed expression which betrayed nothing, she wondered what his words actually implied. Suddenly, she felt a bit selfish for forgetting that Temari was Shikamaru's friend. He probably missed her. And the difference was that Temari actually lived in another country.

"I'm sorry that I could be a bit oblivious sometimes." She sighed. "T-That doesn't mean that you should be ruthless with words."

"It's a pain in the ass that I gotta explain this to you. This is _me,_ trying to talk to you as a _friend_. Isn't that what you wanted?" It was hard to respond to that, but her head gave a weak nod. They returned to the dining room together, walking at a distance that spoke volumes of their friendship. The shadow user stood there, fidgeting with his ear stud as Choji gave him a knowing smile. He had been waiting for Shikamaru's stamp of approval before Hinata could be considered part of the group. A smile reached Ino's eyes, before her lips followed.

So Shikamaru accepted her.

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Thank you for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

Edited: June 01, 2016

A/N: I wanted to say that from now on I'll use my profile to inform you about the status of the next chapter.

After I complete chapter 9, and 10, and post them up, I would like to take a break to go back to earlier chapters and edit them again. I feel there's sooooo much room for improvement. If you have any criticism, that would be awesome. If you're afraid that you'll come off as mean, you could just PM me instead of leaving a review. My goal is to be good enough to become someone's beta(I realized this quite recently).

I hope this chapter doesn't offend most reader. I'm just trying to set up the beginning of the misunderstanding around Hinata's friendship with Choji (a request from a guest reviewer). Another reviewer admitted earlier to shipping a certain crack pairing (HinaxShika). There's something for that person in this chapter as well. But the one sided infatuation won't last forever.

Is Hinata a Masochist, you ask? Maybe. Hehehe.

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 **Chapter 8**

Many days passed since she last saw her boyfriend. And ever since his absence, Hinata stopped waking up extra early to make lunch, for he wasn't there to receive it. Instead, she'll wake up two hours later and would sit for ten minutes each morning, staring outside her bedroom window. Her room would eventually start glowing through the curtain as if trying to give life to her existence. Afterwards, she would get ready and go for the longest jog, coming home only to change and have breakfast.

One morning, on the 22nd of January, after coming back home from a jog, Hinata searched her bag for a sealing scroll. Her eyes landed on the mission scroll neatly placed inside one of the pockets inside; triggering an echo of Lord Kakashi's voice from a meeting that occurred a day ago.

 _"The Land of the River has refused to join the alliance despite all the benefit it would offer to its economy. They've been approached by several daimyos which opposes our cause. And this all happened as soon we made our stride to create a Shinobi Union. Rumor has it that a weapon thought to be lost 70 years ago, has been spotted recently in that country. Now what does that have to do with anything, you might ask. This weapon is known_ _to controls the person who wields it. I have a hunch that whoever is wielding this weapon has been foiling our attempts at getting the Land of the River on our side. Because this weapon...well let's just say it thrives on chaos."_

Said weapon is rumored to have a mind of its own, or a demon inside. It's powers are unknown for now. However, her mission is track down the person that's been possessed by that weapon. So she'll be leaving on that mission tomorrow. Why did she take on this mission? Hinata wanted to get closer to Naruto, even if just a little.

With her mind filled with things she wanted to do, Hinata stepped outside her home state. To think it was almost February. There was something nostalgic about the thought of moving into a new month. A lot of happy things had happened to her in the last two months. But she hoped it didn't stop there. She yearned for February to bring her just as much delight. Much to her dismay, she remembered Lee. Hinata felt too remorseful to approach him about their training regimen, because she had abandoned him in order to spend more time with Naruto; not the Lee was aware. And with the pending mission she had on her hand, she thought it was best to wait until she return from her mission; before she tries to apologize to him.

The supernatural phenomena that was time elapsed in a blur. She had gotten done everything she wanted to do. From replacing the old flowers bouquet with a new one on Neji's resting place. To spending time with Shino, Kiba and Mirai at Kurenai's home. Afterwards she met up with Shikamaru after he was done with work around 5 p.m. And together, they walked to the hospital and picked up Ino. Hinata found plenty of charm in watching the amusing interaction between Shikamaru and Ino, who would banter about the most mundane things.

As they walked to the Nara mansion, Hinata was snared by worrisome thoughts of the upcoming mission to test her abilities. She was brought back by a hand waving in front of her; which belonged to a very impatient Ino. Just then, the sky darkened notably around them. Trees branches they hadn't notice were there, shook around wildly. And a gust of chilly air engulfed their skins, making them shiver. Nothing about the morning had hinted at the storm that was surely approaching. Shikamaru let out a few sneezes, prompting worry on both girl's expression.

"Are you okay?" Both girls asked him. But he insisted that he was fine, that it was probably just allergies.

"You sure you're not getting sick?" Ino asked Shikamaru. For which he shrugged as a response.

Hinata had to agree when Shikamaru said that it was going to be troublesome for Hinata and Ino to go back home during a storm. Hinata hadn't hang out with them in almost a week, and missed them. Thus her response was that she'll be okay as long as she could borrow a rain coat to go home.

When they arrived at their destination, they found Choji already inside Shikamaru's home, walking around as though he lived there. The group relocated from the kitchen to the living room. A bunch of drinks and snacks got distributed around after they settled under the kotatsu.

The next moment, Shikamaru got pulled by his mother to speak to him outside. They spoke in low voices which Choji thought was strange because Yoshino was known for always raising her voice; more so when Shikamaru's friends were around. Upon Shikamaru's return, all the rustling of food stopped. He rolled his eyes when he noticed the worried expressions aimed towards him. He explained that mother was going to have guests over. And that they would have to relocate to his room when the time comes. The consumption of food and beverages resumed. And Shikamaru settled across his best friend who had a Shogi board ready for them to play.

"Hey, you look kinda depressed Hinata." Ino said, her body was sprawl on the floor, while her head rested on Hinata's lap. "Don't tell me I gotta list all your accomplishments in order to cheer you up."

"I do admit that I am facing some sort of crisis right now..." Hinata replied.

"Is it because of that mission?" Ino asked.

"Yes...well sort of." Hinata said. She smiled halfheartedly, and her hesitation to share was due to a _certain_ person inside the room. Shikamaru seems to think she should keep her worries to herself; when it's related to Naruto.

"Is it Naruto?" Ino asked. She could feel Hinata's leg muscles tense; it's something she noticed because her head was resting on Hinata's lap.

'Bingo.' Ino thought, slyly. She sat up and burrowed herself under the blankets while keeping her scrutinizing eyes on Hinata.

"W-Why do you ask that?" Hinata murmured, suspiciously. And that suspicion was from wondering whether Ino had reached a new level where she could read people's mind at will.

"C'mon, you're such an open book." Ino said. "Shouldn't your worries have melted by now?" Ino referenced an old comment that was said some time ago.

"Ino, they're not made out of wax." Hinata said, as she shook her head and smiled softly.

"Then turn it into wax and make a candle out of it!" Ino replied.

Shikamaru caught Hinata's look. It seemed like she wished Ino would drop the subject. Hence the reason he decided that he should say something.

"Troublesome, you know Hinata can't share the details. So let it be, Ino." Shikamaru said just as he ended his turn; he was playing Shogi.

"I already know that!" Ino retorted. Her hand closed into a fist and she aimed it at a particular person who likes to overuse the word 'troublesome' a little too much.

"I'll b-be okay…T-The mission isn't g-going to be such a big deal." Hinata said. Half her body was covered by the blanket, while her hands rested on her lap. Her fingers laced together.

'It's so obvious that this is a big deal to her...' The three shared a variation of this thought.

"I don't mean to point out that when people say something isn't a big deal, it usually means it _is_ a big deal." Choji commented. He turned his head away from the game for a brief moment to look at Hinata.

"Y'know, I was thinking the same thing." Ino said.

"You can trust us, Hinata. Maybe we can help." Choji said. Ino nodded as if agreeing with his words. "So what aspect of the mission got you so worked up?" Choji asked, turning his head slightly to look over his shoulder. "Aside failure that is." He added.

The mention of the word 'failure' prompted a reaction from the shy girl. Hinata's body flinched, and her gaze immediately shifted to her lap. Her thumbs began rotating around each other in circle. Ino noticed the sudden change, and her head snapped towards Choji's direction.

"Hey!" Ino said. "Be gentle, that word seems to be taboo, y'know." She said to Choji. He brought his hands up in defense, even though he was nowhere near Ino.

"I'm truly sorry!" Choji said. By then, his body was facing away from the game, towards the girls.

Shikamaru sighed inwardly. It was obvious that Choji had lost his interest in the game, so Shikamaru opted for a break. He lifted himself off the floor. And made up an excuse to slip outside to the porch to smoke. Unfortunately, he left the sliding door slightly opened. Thus, he was able to hear the conversation going on back inside the living room.

"It's a long story." Hinata said.

"Then give us the short version." Ino said. Scooping closer to Hinata's side.

"S-Short version…hmm…How to say to this," Hinata pointed her index fingers together. "I might lose my first kiss on this mission. And it saddens me, because I've been saving that kiss for N-Naruto." By the time she finished speaking, her shoulder were slouched. And an aura of depression shrouded her mood.

'Why haven't you kiss him?!' Ino felt like asking, but restrained from straying off topic.

"So it's that kind of mission, huh." Ino said, instead.

"Yes…" Hinata said, as she sighed.

"What's Lord Kakashi thinking? This sort of mission...is normally done by Anko's apprentices." Choji said. Shikamaru, who was still outside on the porch, had a grim look on his face. Maybe they didn't know that most of Anko's apprentices were dead.

"Obviously Lord Kakashi was thinking we're like almost adults so a kiss isn't a big deal." Ino replied. They all sighed in unison. "Wait, I got an idea! I mean you're still gonna have to kiss some perverted old man. _But_ it doesn't have to be your _first_ kiss!"

Hinata's eyes widen momentarily. Choji had a similar response. Meanwhile, Shikamaru froze. His lips were slightly parted as the cigarette fell from his mouth (before he got the chance to light it). He did _not_ like where this conversation was headed.

"Y-You can't be implying that I should k-kiss someone before I leave on my mission…" Hinata said. Her hands stopped fidgeting, but her fingers were still laced.

"Yup, I totally am. Just choose a person you trust, like a teammate. And ask them if they could be your first kiss. That way it won't be with a gross stranger." Ino replied. She reached out and placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder, and smiled in a reassuring manner.

"Ino is actually on to something." Choji said. He looked thoughtful, and brought up his hand to rub his chin. Choji then nodded his head; fully approving of the idea.

Shikamaru felt inclined to return because he knew Hinata held Ino's opinion in high regards. Meaning she would be easily persuaded to go along this silly ploy. Which wasn't a good thing because Hinata was a romantic. He guessed with certainty that she would eventually come to regret it. After all, Hinata said that she wanted her first kiss to be with Naruto. He picked up the cigarette from the floor with the intention of disposing it later, and returned to the living room.

"I leave the room for one second, and I come back to _this_." Shikamaru said. He moved his hand about, as if gesturing to the subject. "It's like finding you guys eating chalk and erasers. Troublesome." He brought up a hand and rubbed his temple, then glared at no one in particular; as if thinking 'ugh, I'm dealing with children.'

"So you heard us?" Choji asked. In situation such as these, he disregarded Shikamaru's disapproval. Choji believed that when it comes to matters of emotions and feelings, it was best to try and alleviate stress and trauma in any possible way. Because a seduction mission could probably traumatize a person. Therefore, Ino's idea sounded like a good idea.

"C'mon Shika, you know Kiba and Shino are like a better option than a perverted old man!" Ino said. She slammed her fist down on the table, as if to validate her point. Hinata found herself shrinking in her place. She didn't like the sound of voices escalating. Especially when the subject involved her.

"A-Actually," She started out, meekly. A pink hue color spread across her cheeks, as the room went silent, so she could speak. She still wasn't used to their attention. "I-I would never be able to do it. It would be like…kissing a brother." Hinata said.

"Then what about Lee?" Choji asked.

"Lee?!" Hinata replied. She appeared to look modified over the idea. Lee wasn't just her sparring partner. He had been Neji's best friend. She would never be able to ask such a big favor out of him. Since he had already done enough for her, like helping her get back in shape.

"I'll take that as a no. What about Sai?" Choji said.

"Sai?! You're getting out of hand here, Choji! He's like one of Naruto's best friend. Hinata can't do that!" Ino said on Hinata's behalf.

Shikamaru walked back towards the Shogi board game, and sat down. He felt an odd feeling inside his chest. He knew they had narrowed down the list until it was just Choji and himself. But Choji and Ino would never dare to suggest that he should be the one to kiss Hinata; because Shikamaru was also one of Naruto's best friend. Therefore, Choji was the only one left. The feeling on his chest got heavier upon thinking this.

"Then...how about me?" Choji finally asked.

"Kami, no! Just no!" Ino practically screeched. Prompting everyone's hand to fly up to cover their ears. She brought her arms together to form the shape of an 'X', which was the ultimate way of showing disapproval of an idea.

"Huh? Why not Ino?" Choji asked. His eyes quickly darted from Ino to Hinata. But Hinata had been staring at the floor, purposely avoiding his gaze. He wondered if that was her way of saying no.

"You got your girl." Ino replied. Her tone sounded like she was stating a fact.

"She's not my girl yet. And besides…I'm sure she'll understand." Choji said. And somehow, Ino and Hinata seemed to believe him. Maybe because he was a very kind person who never has hidden motive; other than wishing to help a friend out. Hinata and Ino held a similar view on this.

"I'm gonna say this again. This is a really, really bad idea." Shikamaru said. He crossed his arm and looked across everyone's face. His lips pressed into a thin line, as he looked completely serious.

"Shut up Shika, no one cares about your opinions right now. You think you _get it_ , but you don't _understand_." Ino said. Shikamaru rolled his eyes after hearing such response, and slight shook his head.

"You're overlooking something important. You're basing this decision on the notion that Naruto will be cool and understanding. But I know the idiot won't accept any excuse as to why his girlfriend had to kiss another guy." Shikamaru explained. He purposely chose the words 'girlfriend' and 'another guy' in hopes of swaying Hinata out of the idea.

"We could all keep a secret here, right?" Ino replied. There was an undertone of mischief, as her grin widened. Choji's expression showed guilt and remorse over his suggestion. He turned away from Shikamaru's gaze that clearly told him 'see what you started, buddy?'

'I'm sorry Shika!' Choji thought to himself.

"And suddenly this has taken a bad turn as far as morals are concerned." Shikamaru said. His tone dripping with discontentment.

"I-I can't keep something like this from Naruto..." Hinata said. The level of her voice had been a mere whisper, yet everyone in the room heard her. "But...I'll think about it." She said.

"What a drag, it's like I'm talking to a classroom full of genins." Shikamaru said. He leaned back, with his hands on the floor, and stared at the ceiling. He felt so displeased about the situation that he wanted to sleep it away.

.

.

.

It was raining outside. The wind sounded as though it had the power to blow a person away. Or the power to move the Nara mansion from its location. It was around seven p.m. when his mother had forced him, against his will, to take his friends to hang out inside his room because she wanted the living room space for the family guests.

Ino, being the most intruding out of all of them, opened his closet and pulled out a box labeled 'genin days'. She set it down, like she owned it, mainly because some of the things in the box were her belongings from the time Yoshino used to babysit her. Hinata peered over Ino's shoulder at all the physical memories stored in it. Ino picked up a plastic kunai, and turned to Shikamaru and made a gesture of slashing his throat. The shadow user rolled his eyes. Choji noticed that Shikamaru wasn't too keen about Ino and Hinata's actions of looking through the box. So he cautiously asked them to get what they needed from the genin toy box and to put it away. The truth was, some of the toys in there were things given to Shikamaru by his father and Asuma sensei. Choji knew this. Ino knew this as well, but chose to ignore it since Shikamaru had yet to yell at her. As for Hinata, well, she was new to the group so she didn't know any better.

An item caught Hinata's interest. She grabbed it to examine it. It was a white festival mask with a face shaped like a fox. But it looked like an ANBU mask more than anything. However, the material was cheap plastic. And it had no holes for the eyes. How was a person supposed to see with this?

"I have one of these back at home." Hinata said, as she showed the item to Ino. "It's from one of the Kyuubi festivals, right?" Hinata asked. She lifted up the fox mask to her face. "Eh? I can't see." The mask was supposed to have a pair of opening for the eyes, but it didn't.

"Maybe Shika picked up the Hyuga edition." Ino replied and her shoulder gave a slight shrug.

"I guess…?" Hinata said. She glanced down at the fox mask in her hands with a fond smile. Neji and her used to play with similar masks back when she hadn't awaken her Byakugan. Hinata decided that she wanted to keep it with her for the rest of the night.

After Ino found some of her old hair ribbons and cheap hair ornaments, she put the box back inside the closet. Her blue eyes marked Hinata as a prime target. The shy girl tilted her head in interest as she tried to understand Ino's thought process, but couldn't figure it out.

"Ino?" She finally asked.

"Come here, Hinata. Sit in front of me." Ino sat on a floor cushion, and patted the spot in front of her. Hinata soon joined her, with her back turned towards her. Ino proceeded to finger-comb Hinata's hair, but the shy girl wouldn't stay still for some reason. "Damn it stop moving so much!" Ino said.

"But it tickles!" Hinata replied as a few giggles escaped from her mouth.

Shikamaru wanted to ask the girls to keep their voice down. Since he couldn't concentrate on the game of Go that he and Choji were playing. Meanwhile, Choji just gave him a sympathetic look because he shared his feelings.

"What does? You mean _this_?" Ino ran her fingers through Hinata's hair a few times. The poor girl sitting in front of her flinched and moved away from Ino's grasp, while giggling.

"Stop!" Hinata pleaded.

"So you're ticklish," Ino said. Shikamaru felt his ears perked up at the sound of this new information. "How you made it this far as a ninja is beyond me. I mean you're so helpless." Ino commented. Though her tone was dry, Hinata knew was being teased.

"You're saying mean things again." Hinata said.

"I know, I know." Ino responded. After an exasperated sigh, she gave up on braiding Hinata's hair and settled for an elegant bun. She decorated it with a purple hair ornament. Once she was finished, she turned to Choji, while holding Hinata's shoulder. "Ta-dah! Choji look!" Although it was Choji's attention being called, Shikamaru also glanced up from the game, the piece he had been holding at the time almost slid out of his fingers. "What do you think?"

Hinata's bags covered her forehead as it always did. But her hair was up in a high ponytail which was twisted in an elegant bun. Hinata brought up the fox mask to hide her face. It was easier this way; as opposed to trying to contain the heat from rising to her cheeks.

"I approve. It adds more to the princess aura." Choji replied.

"T-Thank you." Hinata's response was muffled behind the mask. She brought down the mask after she no longer felt embarrassed. She looked at Choji's hair with thoughtful expression. Oh no, they knew all knew this look. She was 'thinking', and after she was done thinking, she was going to share her 'thoughts'.

"Choji w-will probably look like a Noble with his hair up." Hinata commented.

"What? You mean like a daimyo?" Ino asked. She also tilted her head as she looked at Choji. Ino tried to see it through Hinata's lenses. "I'm not seeing it, but okay, I trust you."

"Ino, get to work!" Choji said. There was a wide smile on his lips. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, wondering why his friend felt this enthusiastic about frilly things. Ino relocated behind Choji, and brought her knees down on a floor pillow. She spent the next moment trying to slay and tame his unruly hair.

"So when are you two gonna kiss?" Ino whispered, loud enough (on purpose) so that everyone in the room could hear her. Choji had been in the middle of his turn when he paused and stared blankly at the board game. He even forgot the move he was going to make. But he relaxed once he realized he was being teased.

"I-Ino!" Hinata didn't know how to warn her to stop; other than yelling Ino's name in way that sounded like Hinata felt mortified.

"Maybe after you transforms me into a daimyo, right?" Choji replied. He shifted the attention to Hinata, who had become a victim of their joke; she was currently sitting on the floor; leaning against Shikamaru's bed furniture.

"R-Right…" Hinata said, meekly. She then lifted the fox mask to cover her face; effective hiding her blush and ending the conversation.

"You three are unbelievable." Shikamaru stifled a sigh. They were so casual about the situation that it kind of annoyed him. While Ino was busy with styling Choji's hair, Shikamaru ignored Hinata's obvious attempt to mark him as a target. There was no way he was going to let anyone mess with his hair. It took effort to get it done. He had to actually stand in front of a mirror and spend time taming his frizz to perfection.

Shikamaru wished he hadn't glared her way. Because after he engaged her eyes, he was on target-lock-on for sure. There was gleam of unwavering determination. Her hands, he saw, were clasp as some form of prayer.

"Fine." Shikamaru said, clearly defeated. "Just no pigtails," He said, then paused to think of a threat. "Or I might make you stand outside, until I can no longer hold your shadow." Shikamaru added. And the painted picture brought a shiver down her spine. As a reminder, Hinata tuned into the sounds of rain drops slamming hard down the roof.

"Wow Shika, that's cold." Choji commented. He shook his head disapprovingly.

"Hinata, don't listen to him-just do as you please." Ino said. "I mean I can just control his mind and make him walk a few miles out in the rain." She explained, with a sadistic smile on her lips.

"U-Um...no pigtails then." Hinata said. She brought a floor pillow with her and dropped it on the floor, behind Shikamaru, before kneeling on it. When she released his hair from the rubber band, Choji and Ino looked surprised that his hair fell past his shoulder.

"Bro, your hair! When was the last time you got a haircut?" Choji asked.

"I guess it's time to cut it." Shikamaru said. He took some portion of hair in his hand, and brought it forward to look at it. "I heard Sakura cuts her own hair." He said.

"She does. Maybe she could do yours too." Ino said. "But Sakura's gonna be pissed that your hair is longer than hers." Ino said with a smile. Shikamaru would've rubbed the back of his neck if Hinata hadn't been situated behind him. However, Hinata made no comment about his hair, and kept herself entertained with his dark hair. It had been a long time since she last played with someone's hair, other than Hanabi's or Neji's. She missed Neji.

She made a parting down the middle, and combed his hair on each side. She wasn't really sure how to style it since girly pigtails were out of the question. It already looked fine to her, even though she hadn't done anything but part it in the center. She started over. And combed his hair back, making a half up and half down hairdo while letting some of his fringes fall forward, framing his face. Well, that hadn't actually been on purpose. Hinata was letting his fringes do its own thing. She moved to the side to get a better view of the front, and nodded at her work. Somehow this hairstyle made him appear younger.

Hinata turned to Ino and Choji, smiling over her own work.

"S-Shikamaru looks like," Hinata paused. She didn't dare say it. But Ino knew what she was thinking.

"Like a delinquent?" Ino asked.

"Yeah." Hinata said. "B-But in a good way!" She quickly added. But her compliment, or if it could be called that, didn't stop Shikamaru's expression from shifting into a glare; as if asking 'Who are you calling a delinquent?!'.

"How is that a good thing?" Choji asked. Completely confused.

"I think what Hinata is trying to say is that this hairstyle enhances Shika. Who knows, maybe he would've been more popular with girls." Ino said. "But what would _really_ complete the look is having more piercing. And a tattoo." Ino's insight was ignored by Shikamaru.

"Again, _how_ exactly is that a good thing?" Choji repeated his question. But was ignored, since Ino thought he wouldn't get it: some girls were just into to that sort of look.

"This conversation is not worth entertaining." Shikamaru said while losing interest in the game. He got up with plans of going to the kitchen for some water. The thought of investing in a mini fridge occurred to him. He was tired of having to walk back and forth between his room and the kitchen; just to get water. He rather saved that energy for something else. "You guys want anything?" He asked as he made his way towards the door.

"Chips and cola!" Choji replied.

"Juice!" Ino said.

"I guess w-water?" Hinata said.

During his absence, Yoshino enter her son's room and her eyes landed on Hinata. She motioned to the shy girl to come over. Hinata pushed herself off the floor and joined Yoshino outside.

"Hello Yoshino. U-Um do you need anything?" Hinata asked politely, while fidgeting with the fox mask in her hands.

"Yeah, could you follow me for a second? I need to return something that belongs to you." Yoshino replied.

"Yes, of course." Hinata followed Yoshino, who guided her until they stood inside the laundry room. Yoshino grabbed a grey scarf neatly folded on top of some recently washed clothes and presented it to Hinata. The girl smiled happily. She had assumed that the scarf was lost because Shikamaru never mentioned it to her. In order to free her hands, Hinata stretched the elastic material and carefully slid her head through the opening. Once the fox mask was hanging like a necklace, she moved the mask up so that it rests on her head.

"I guess my little boy kept forgetting to give this to you." Yoshino explained to her. Shikamaru would've cringed if he knew his mother was going around and addressing him as a little boy.

"Thank you." Hinata said, while taking the grey scarf in her hands.

When Shikamaru returned to his room, he immediately asked about Hinata's disappearance. Upon hearing Choji's response of how she got called away by Yoshino, he could only groan. Shikamaru left the room without a word, and actively searched for the location of her chakra. When he found her, she was deep in thought, standing in the middle of a long hall, close to the laundry room. He put the picture together once he saw her grey scarf in her hands.

"S-Shikamaru, I don't mean to be wandering around your house like this." Hinata said. He kept taking long strives towards her, as she spoke. He started out at the opposite end of the hallway, but now he stood at arm's length. She relaxed upon seeing his small smile."Your mother wanted to return this to me." Hinata's hand moved as she gestured to the scarf in her hands.

"Here, give it to me," Shikamaru said. He used the same tone he reserved for when speaking to Mirai. He took the scarf from her hand and folded in half. "It'll be troublesome if you forget it again." He said as he draped the scarf around the back of her neck, consequently pulling her closer to him. He caught a whiff of her scent which he later came to associate as her.

Hinata lifted her chin to allow him to pull the long end of the scarf through the loop with better ease. Her eyes remained downcast. During that moment, Shikamaru made a discovery about her inky eyelashes. They were pretty long and seemed to cast a shadow on her fair skin as she stared downward. He looked away from her and became fixated on her scarf as he straightened it.

"It's easy to picture you helping Mirai like this when she's old enough to wear a scarf." She said. With one of those small smiles he's used to. "Neji used to do this...when I was younger…" There was a subdued sadness in her voice that made him pause. Shikamaru allowed the grey scarf to slip out of his grasp as he retracted his steps. He needed to change the subject fast. He didn't want to end up with a depressed girl. Not to mention that Ino might blame him and direct her anger towards him.

"Hey, are you really thinking of going through with _it_?" Shikamaru asked, not wanting to call it by its name. Truth was, he felt worried because his best friend has never kissed a girl.

It would be very bothersome if Choji were to mistake whatever feeling that arises from his first kiss, as something more. Which is why he thought it was a foolish idea. Maybe he was overthinking things. But he was going to make sure to weed out any possible conflict before it even began. He thought back to the first time Hinata came over to his house and got introduced to his mother. He had welcomed the change of pace after seeing the two girls asleep under the Kotatsu. He didn't want their group to fall apart over something like this.

"I don't know…" Hinata replied.

"I suppose since it's you, I'll give you a short lesson on how Naruto thinks." Shikamaru said. He noticed how her eyes perked up in interest. Good, at least he had diverted her attention from the subject of Neji. "There's right and there's wrong. Black and white. You believe telling Naruto the truth would justify your wrong doing. But your actions are still not permissible."

"Kissing a stranger is the right thing to do?" Hinata asked. Her tone kind of doubtful.

"It's a drag when you spin the question like that..." Shikamaru brought up a hand and rubbed the back of his neck. "Let's remember we're talking about Naruto here and the way he thinks. So yes, it's only permissible because it's for a mission; as troublesome as it may be." He said in hopes of winning her over to his side. After all, he didn't peg her for an egocentric person. He had seen her ready to make a few sacrifices before. What's a kiss gonna matter in the grand scheme of things? Keeping their group drama-free was one of things.

"You're right." Hinata said after giving it much thought.

Lying to her for a greater cause, he thought, was the better option. In fact, no one could hope to predict how Naruto would react. But it wouldn't have mattered. Shikamaru wanted to protect Choji from an unrequited crush. It was the logical thing to do, after bearing witness to all the heartbreak Naruto went through by chasing after Sakura. It was no wonder Shikamaru was looking out for Choji. He didn't want his best friend to follow the same path. The pang of guilt disappeared within each passing second of silence.

But he emerged from his contemplation by the gentle arms snaking around him and engulfing him into a hug. His whole body went stiff. His arms remained vertical on his side. Half of his brain shut down for reasons he couldn't fathom, only to restart. When his genius brain resumed back to work, his hands made their way to her shoulder; pushing her away.

She looked very startled. He didn't know why. Hinata had been the one who hugged him out of nowhere. A questionable discomfort rose on his chest, only to dissipate.

"I'm sorry, it's just y-you reminded me of Neji and," Hinata stopped talking when the weight of his hand was upon her head. In seconds, her beautiful bun was moved around until it lost its elegant shape. The fox mask on her head got shifted, and now appeared ready to slide off at any second. "A-Am I being bullied?" Hinata asked. Her tone expressed clear amusement. There was a small smile on the corner of her mouth. And a small spark of life in her eyes. Somehow he had managed to cheer her up.

"You're the one that latched onto me." Shikamaru pointed out. "Don't I have the right to retaliate?" He looked away, displeased because he had failed to make her angry. The shadow user could never understand the malicious spirit that would beckon him to try and make her feel irritated. It's not like he profited from such antics.

"I-It's called a hug..." Hinata replied. She brought her hand over to cover her mouth to hide a wide smile which formed on her lips. She eventually brought her hand down.

"So if I were to do the same, out the blue, it won't be sexual harassment?" Shikamaru asked.

"Um…I don't think I'll view it that way. Because you're my friend." Hinata said.

Shikamaru studied her honest expression. She seemed very serious about her declaration of friendship. He didn't like that about her. She had a tendency to answer questions that are aimed at her just for teasing purposes. And as if possessed by some other worldly being, he reached for the mask on her head, and slid it down to cover her face. Once her face was completely covered, he held the mask in place; so that it doesn't move or fall.

During the seconds which her vision was shrouded in darkness, Shikamaru leaned down and kissed the mask. One second passed. Two seconds passed. And finally came a muffled, and confused reaction from her.

"Shikamaru?" He heard her say. The sound of her voiced repelled him away. He now stood a few feet away, against the wall. Far enough where she was out reach. He felt mortified over his action. And he could feel his face heating up. It took everything he had not to run away screaming. What stopped him from doing so was that she had been oblivious to the whole thing.

Hinata pulled off the mask. And blinked; looking a little lost. She surveyed his expression. But he looked like his usual self; aloof and disinterest. The only thing out of place was the light cherry color on his cheeks. She didn't know what had occurred during the moments which she faced darkness. But she was aware that Shikamaru had done something to cause the fox mask to press close to her face, making her unable to breath momentarily. After she finished studying him, Hinata concluded that he had pressed the mask against her with his hand. There just wasn't any other explanation. She figured he was just trying to bully her again.

When she turned away from him, Shikamaru let out a sigh, feeling relieved that she was done probing him.

"Hinata, ta-dah! Presenting, Daimyo Choji!" Ino said after coming into view. She pushed Choji in front of her, both her hands on his shoulder. His hair was styled in a noble way.

"Choji...I've decided to not do it after all." Hinata said.

"So he got to you, huh." Choji replied. At this point, all eyes were on Shikamaru, who shifted his weight to one side of his leg.

"Let me guess, Shika said some things that opened your eyes." Ino said. A smirk quickly formed on her lips as she walked close to Hinata to fix the mask on her head.

"That's Shikamaru for ya." Choji commented. Ino's smile faltered, as she wondered what happened to Hinata's hair. Her eyes flickered towards Shikamaru as she scrutinized him. He raised an eyebrow, almost as to ask 'what?' but she didn't say anything to challenge him.

"But then what are you gonna do about your mission, Hinata?" Ino asked. This time, looking a little serious.

"Isn't it obvious? She's gonna find another way to accomplish her mission." Shikamaru replied. He lifted his hand and played with the small silver stud on his ear; the one that had been gifted to him by Asuma.

"H-How optimistic." Hinata said. Her tone of doubt was to let him know that she didn't share his positive view. But when he smirked her way, she began to rethink that maybe it was achievable (going through the mission without having to kiss an old man.)

As the four made their way back to Shikamaru's room. Ino didn't ask why Hinata's hair was a mess. And Choji didn't ask why Shikamaru had been flustered. Ino and Choji exchanged questioning looks, but said nothing about it to each other. Once they were all back inside Shikamaru's room, activities resumed and more snacks were consumed. Everything seemed peaceful on the surface. But underneath the surface, Shikamaru kept looping the memory of his odd behavior. What was this paradox?

As if hit by a wave of enlightenment, he brought the palm of his hand to his forehead to measure his body temperature. Maybe he was coming down with a fever, he figured. Shikamaru asked Ino for her professional opinion. She scooped to his side and examined his temperature which indeed felt high. Ino motioned Hinata to come over, so she could get a second opinion on the matter.

Shikamaru instinctively shut his eyes as Hinata's soft hand pressed against his forehead. He felt his body shuddered upon contact. Her touch gave rise to a feeling of coldness, making his hair stand upright. His heart rate increased. Shikamaru took a peek from behind his eyelashes at her retrieving hand. He felt relieved to see it moving away from him.

"I'm really starting to get worry, Shika. Even your face is looking kind of red." Choji said. There was a frown on his lips, as his tone portrayed the concern he felt. Shikamaru glanced back at Choji, with a similar expression on his face. As Hinata returned to Choji's side.

"That's because I don't feel good." Shikamaru replied. He lazily lifted himself off the floor to roll onto his bed. And released a sigh. "What a drag, it doesn't seem like the storm is stopping anytime soon." He stared at the ceiling of his room. His senses focused on the loud sound of the storm punching the roof of his house. His eyes flashed towards the small clock resting on his bedside. It was almost 8:30 p.m.

"I really don't wanna go home in this weather." Choji said. He was sitting on the floor eating chips, with his back leaning against Hinata's. Her eyes were closed at the time, as she listened to their conversation.

"Then stay," Shikamaru took a pause in the middle of his sentence to move strands of hair out of his face. "Ah, but don't wake me up at six for breakfast. I need all the hours of rest I can get." Shikamaru said.

"I wanna stay too." Ino said. She had been sitting on the floor, leaning against Shikamaru's bed furniture. "And we'll nurse you back to health together. Guess Ino-Shika-Choji is back!" Her voice sounded more excited than worried. Choji shook his head, dejectedly, over Ino's dismissive behavior.

"Tch, I knew it would come to this." Shikamaru complained. He watched Ino change her seating location. She now sat on the edge of his bed. She leaned down and hugged him.

"C'mon, you know you love us." Ino said. While her head rested on Shikamaru's stomach. Even though her tone was playful, they could all feel that she meant it.

Hinata felt moved by the scene of friendship. Yet at the same time, she was starting to feel like an extra. Guess it was time to go home. She stood up and walked next to his bed to look at him. He glanced up at her and raised an eyebrow as if to ask her 'what is it?'.

"U-Um…do you have a rain coat I could borrow?" Hinata asked. Her index fingers connected together, but she stopped when she caught herself doing that; she was trying to get rid of such habit.

Ino lifted her head from her friend's stomach to look at Hinata.

"Don't leave us!" Ino said, as she stretched her arm and grabbed Hinata's wrist; pulling her down next to her.

"I can't stay. I have a mission tomorrow. And I have to leave my house at around 4:30 in the morning." Hinata said, as she adjusted her body in a comfortable sitting position.

"So you're going home now?" Choji asked. He got up and took it upon himself to pick up the board game which was on the floor, and put it away. He also picked up the empty bottles of water and juice boxes, and discarded them inside a bin.

"Mhm." Hinata replied. She was still sitting on the bed, when she tilted her head and leaned back a little to look at Shikamaru; who was laying down behind her. "I hope you get well soon." She said, with a sincere smile.

"Ah. Thanks." Shikamaru replied, while choosing to turn on his side, away from his friends. His chest felt tight, and his stomach didn't feel right. He wanted to attribute those feelings to food poisoning. But it was getting harder to lie to himself.

"Why must you act so mopey and cute when you're sick?" Ino said. She twisted her body to the left and pressed her hands on his bed, to support her weight. She kept turning until she was no longer in a sitting position; one foot was on the floor and one knee on his bed. With her hands still supporting her weight, she leaned over his body to get a good look at his face. Shikamaru's face was still burning from the fever. Maybe he didn't want them to see him like this, Ino thought, as she poked the side of his flushed cheek.

"Annoying..." Shikamaru murmured, while grabbing her wrist and lazily shoving her hand away. "The rain coat is inside my closet, Ino. I don't feel like moving..." When he turned around again, his eyes flickered over to where the closet was supposed to be; but his view was blocked by Hinata and Ino. Both girls shared a look, bemused by his behavior. Hinata to admit she might never look at Shikamaru the same way after seeing this side of him. She stifled a giggle at this thought.

.

.

.

And it happened that night. While under the spell of a fever. Shikamaru lay awake analyzing the paradox that still didn't make sense inside his head; he couldn't explain to himself _why_ he had kissed her. Finally, he came up with an answer that solved the odd paradox of his earlier actions. It was possible that he had fallen victim to a trap. And that trap was called hypocrisy. This whole time he had been busy trying to prevent to his best friend, Choji, from crushing on her. When the truth was, Shikamaru already had some sort of crush on her. But when did it start?

He had a feeling it was after New Year's when he caught himself staring at her. And was forced to look away after he discovered that her eyes were able to capture the color of the sky. He filtered out the memory of her belly which looked like a hill after eating too many rice balls, because it seemed unimportant. Her bow-shaped lips. Her thick inky eyelashes. They added to her alluring features. Still, none of those things explain _anything_ other than his physical attraction to her. So that was no big surprise since she was pretty, the same way Sakura was pretty.

Ah, how embarrassing. Especially since Hinata just wasn't his type. Sure she was sweet and quiet. Also polite and proper. Maybe too kind and forgiving. And could defeat him in a spar. It must have been the hug that triggered his awareness. Yet none of that mattered. Because he knew that Hinata will _always_ see Naruto. At least he knew what to do now. Keeping the will of fire alive was a collective responsibility. He wished for everyone's happiness, including his own. Hence, he planned on severing these feelings before they take root inside his heart. He didn't fault Hinata for this weird phenomena. Nor did he take comfort in knowing why he had a hard time being himself around her. Troublesome.

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It was dusk. The air gave off a smell of wet grass and trees. Hinata and Sai were ready for such weather, both cloaked in white winter mantles. They were mounted on an oversize bird created from ink and paper. They were at a good distance away from the Hidden Leaf Village. She held onto Sai's side, while surveying the area beneath them; mostly trees, which had little amount of leaves. Although there were a few stubborn trees that had stayed in full bloom of green; even during the winter.

The scenery, however, seemed like a picture of a forest filtered through Gotham lighting; pretty grim looking as though there was evil lurking in the forest.

The cold she felt only got worst. That's what time does; the longer outside, the colder you get. And it prompted her to cling closer to Sai, for warmth. The silent observer glanced over his shoulder only to see her hair flying everywhere. Their eyes met, and on his lips was one of those plastic smiles he was known for. It made her feel unsettled. And she loosen her hold around him.

"Please, don't let go on my account." Sai said. It was hard for Hinata to determine whether he was being sarcastic or genuine. "You're keeping us both warm." He added.

"Ah, okay?" Hinata replied. She wrapped her arm even tighter around his waist, clinging for warmth.

The next hour was spent between storytelling and polite silence. Surprisingly it was Sai doing most of the talking. His awkward speech etiquette intrigued her. She knew he was a previous member of root back when such organization existed. Sai's vocabulary was rich in the art department. When he described things he'll paint a picture with words, making her feel like if she visited the places he described, she'll be able to recognize them. During the conversation, serious topics were avoided. But as a rule, he would throw some facts here and there about what he had recently learned through his missions.

The sun slowly started to rise, and they paused the conversation to watch the sunrise in silent appreciation.

As if it was some sort of reflex when facing danger, Hinata tensed up after she felt a dark chakra nearby. Sai reassured her that it was just Sasuke. But to her, that still didn't sound reassuring. Her prejudice thoughts diminished when an image of Sakura landed afloat the landscape of her mind. A smile surface from her heart from the knowledge that Sakura was probably going to be really happy that Sasuke was coming back.

The next moment was extraordinary. She felt a reign of warm chakra pouring into her very being. The only person that could do this to her was Naruto.

Placing her shaky cold hands on Sai's shoulders, Hinata stood up slowly. Sai warned her about her unsafe actions. But Hinata ignored his warning. She glanced down and spotted Naruto's chakra. Her boyfriend seemed to pause on his tracks when he sensed her. Naruto lifted his head towards the sky once he pinpointed her location, there was a wide silly smile on his lips.

After deactivating the Byakugan, Hinata let go of Sai's shoulder and leaped off the ink bird. Her winter cloak was fluttering all around her. Her hair was equally wild as she fell from the sky. Her whole body felt the fear from such jump, like the one you get from riding a roller coaster. Or the same feeling you get after looking down the earth from a high structure. Yet she embraced those feelings as she fell.

The Gotham filter, or the grim view, was slowly shifting into a much colorful filter with tons of warmth and life.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled. The desperation that came from Naruto's voice was heard by Sasuke; who had stopped running. Sasuke turned around and immediately noticed a girl with a full head of dark blue hair, falling from the sky. He raced back with the intention of catching her, but stopped once he witnessed Naruto use chakra to leap from a tree branch towards the sky. His friend quickly caught the girl in his arms, and landed on a tree.

"Are you crazy?! You could've died!" Naruto reproached her. His heart was racing over different reasons than hers.

'That's how much I love you!' As if she could ever say that.

Sasuke, whom had witnessed the whole stunt, landed on a tree branch near the couple. He leaned against a trunk as he observed their interaction.

Meanwhile, Sai maneuvered his ink bird to land on a spot close by Sasuke. And released the technique, vanishing the ink bird in the process.

"T-That was a leap of faith." Hinata said. And with a great degree of intimacy, she caressed Naruto's cheek while enjoying the electric blue eyes staring back at her in disbelief.

His expression immediately softened mainly because of her passionate stare which enveloped him in warm feelings. He thought of how strange she was. Naruto gathered that jumping off heights was one of the things his girlfriend enjoyed. Was she a thrill seeker or something? It would make sense why she decided to confess that one time while jumping in front of Pein.

He released her from his arm. But his heart was still beating from what she had put him through. He ceased to ask himself what he should say to her because she looked so happy. Her small hands felt cold on his cheeks. Hinata was trying to pull him down to meet her at her level. He complied, thinking he was going to get a kiss on the cheek or the forehead. Her short height increased a little as she tiptoed. She aimed her kiss on his lips. Their first kiss. The experience had left an intense impression on him. A colony of bees fluttered about inside his stomach. He vowed to express his gratitude the next time the two find themselves alone. Even after his charming smile subsided, he remained with a strong urge to kiss her again; for making him worry, of course.

By that point, the couple had completely cropped Sasuke and Sai out of the picture; and were reminded of their presence once Sai cleared his throat to speak.

"The Hyugas sure have an aesthetic for dramatics." Sai commented. Hinata's heart nearly leaped out when she remembered they were still there.

"Hn." Came a sound out of Sasuke's throat.

Sasuke took in her appearance. Hinata looked like a typical doll-like princess running around pretending to be a ninja. And already, he despised her. Three months ago, before Sasuke left the Leaf Village, he asked Naruto if he would like to join him on his next travel. Naruto _promised_ him that he would join him the next time he comes back. Isn't Naruto supposed to never go back on his word? Yet his idiotic friend has been acting like the promise hadn't happened at all; because he got himself a girlfriend. Therefore, Sasuke disliked Hinata.

"I almost forgot you guys were there!" Naruto said. He smiled sheepishly as his hand moved up and rubbed the back of his head.

"Clearly you did, Naruto." Sai replied. At this point, he was posing with a hand resting on one side of his hip. Sai directed his attention towards his traveling partner, Hinata. "Do you realize that we're on a mission? I'm obligated to report everything that happened since we left."

"W-What?!" Hinata said. Looking at him in disbelief. She thought of ways to talk Sai out of it. She entertained the idea of bribing him with new paint brushes. The expensive kind.

"Pfff, go ahead! You think we care? Oh and make sure to write this too!" Naruto said; clearly not ashamed of their public display of affection. Naruto hugged her from behind. Giving her a kiss on the cheek. Her whole face turned red, as her heart felt overwhelmed with happiness.

"Oi, let's go." Sasuke said, catching Hinata's attention. When their eyes met, she was greeted with extreme coldness. She felt like he was silently blaming her for their delay. So she looked away.

"Why do you always gotta be in such a rush? Gee, I hate traveling with you." Naruto replied. He looked away from Sasuke to stare at a head full of dark blue hair. Naruto buried his nose in her hair, taking in her scent. He was going to miss her. "Just promise me no more leap of faith, okay?" Naruto spoke while his face was still buried in her hair. He then rested his chin on her shoulder and whispered: "I mean, that really worried me, ya know? Like what if Kakashi sensei might try to keep us from going on missions together just because you do reckless things when I'm around." To the observer standing nearby, Naruto appeared to be whispering sweet perverted things to her, due to the way her face heated close to a strawberry shade.

She could only accomplish a nod as she brought her hands to cover her face due to the embarrassment she felt. His breath had tickled her ear and she was ashamed to admit she liked it.

'I love you!' Hinata exclaimed inside her mind.

Naruto let her go and leaped away. He landed on a tree branch, next to Sasuke. And turned to her. He flashed her one of those confident smile she loved so much. While wishing her good luck.

After parting, Hinata recalled Ino's crazy idea of how all she had to do was kiss someone before her mission. Hinata was grateful that Shikamaru had convinced her not kiss Choji, because in the end, she got to give her first kiss to Naruto. The month of January had been kind to her. She looked forward to completing her mission as quick as possible so that she could make it back in time for Valentine's Day. Perhaps her first date with Naruto might happen on that fateful day that's reserved for couples.

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A/N: If you made it this far, thank you for taking your time to read. To be honest I felt hesitant to post this chapter because of the one-side ShikaxHina.


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